Mauritius has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated tourists after being closed for 16 months.

Arriving tourists are being welcomed by local sega dancers at the main airport where they must show a negative Covid-19 test result.

No movement restrictions will be imposed on vaccinated visitors.

Tourism is a big pillar of the Mauritian economy. The pandemic saw many hotels closed for months while others were used as quarantine centres.

The number of arriving tourists is still low and hotels are registering less than 40% of occupancy. .

The island has recently reported an increase of Covid-19 deaths to previous months. But the government has accelerated its vaccination campaign that has seen more than 850,000 of the 1.3 million population vaccinated.

Students aged between 15 and 17 years have started receiving the jab in learning institutions.