GDh. Thinadhoo, Maldives — On Wednesday, the Dr Abdul Samad Memorial Hospital in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll has limited its capacity for testing Covid-19.
Following the Health Protection Agency’s (HPA) advice, the hospital’s manager Ahmed Saeed said that they have been sending samples to the capital city Male’ to be tested for the virus.
The samples are often taken in reference to the domestic flight schedule. The samples often take 48 to 72 hours before the test results are processed in and are sent to the hospital from the greater Male’.
When it became difficult to export the cartridges required for the GeneXpert machine, the decision was taken to limit in-island testing.
“We are now [solely] testing in-patients that are admitted to the hospital”, said Saeed. The thinadhoo hospital began to test for Covid-19 on August 5.
The populas city in Maldives, Malé has seen a surge in the number of confirmed cases after the lockdown restrictions were eased, with majority of the confirmed cases being Maldivians.
Maldives now has a total of 7,225 confirmed cases, increased by 2,000 cases in just 15 days. While the country has recorded 4,561 complete recoveries, 2,636 active cases still remain. The death toll of Maldives is at 28.
