A new COVID-19 Testing Centre is operational at Dr Yves Cantin Community Hospital in Black River since last year to enable the people living in the West part of the island to benefit from appropriate screening for COVID-19. The newly launched COVID-19  Testing Centre has a well-equipped isolation ward to accommodate positive COVID-19 patients with symptoms while waiting for the transfer to Regional Hospitals.

The Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Hon K. K. Jagatpul participated in the soft opening of the Centre in the presence of the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Hon. A. Ganoo; the World Health Organization Representative in Mauritius, Dr Laurent Musango and other personalities on 18 December  2021.

Hon. A. Ganoo acknowledged the benefits of having a COVID-19 screening facility in Black River which has no regional hospital.  The inhabitants will not have to travel a lot, he said.

The Health Minister, Dr Hon. K.  K. Jagutpal,  emphasized the importance of maintaining all the appropriate measures to mitigate the effects of the virus as well as prevent its spread.

Dr L. Musango, the WHO Representative said COVID-19 Testing Centres are Sentinel Centres, where all diseases with epidemic tendencies, including Influenza, Dengue, Malaria, along with COVID-19 can be detected on time, thus preventing cross-contamination among patients.

As part of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Mauritius constructed a  COVID-19 Testing Centre, also called Flu clinics in each of the five Regional Hospitals.  Systematic screening of patients with COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms is thus done in a one-stop-shop outstation within the hospital's compound.

The new COVID-19 Testing Centre was funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)  with the support of the World Health Organization.