Male’, Maldives —The Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) has stated that refusing to give samples is one of the reason for community spread in the islands.
HEOC has stated that when the health officials attempt to take random sampling to figure out how much the virus has spread in the community, most of the citizens tend to refuse to give samples rather than volunteering for it.
Noting that such acts can lead to a community spread in the island, HEOC advised all the citizens to avoid running away from random sampling.
For the first time since the Covid-19 outbreak in Maldives, the number of Covid-19 cases has increased by a great extent in the atolls with the country currently holding over 900 positive cases in 58 atolls throughout the country.
The Head of the Atoll Preparedness team, Abdullah Mauroof spoke at HEOC press conference and informed the people that random sampling is very important to figure out how much the Covid-19 virus has spread in the atoll. He stated that this method is used to identify those who are infected at the earliest so the authorities can place appropriate protective measures in order to avoid a surge in the number of cases in the respective atoll.
Mauroof noted that while most of the people refuse to participate in random sampling at first, everyone rushes to get it done as soon as the number of cases start to increase rapidly in the atoll. He advised everyone to volunteer for random sampling before the situation gets worse.
At present, statistics shows that the highest amount of active cases are currently in Lh. Felivaru with the island holding a whooping 347 active Covid-19 cases. The second highest number of cases were recorded in Lh. Naifaru with 179 active cases. K. Huraa also has active cases above 100 with the island currently having 135 active cases followed by K. Dhiffushi with 105 active cases.
Following the surge in the number of cases, the protective measures in the atolls have also been stricken by HPA with the residents not being allowed to travel from one island to another unless in emergency situation. HPA has also forbidden events/ceremonies along with gathering of more than three people at once place as well.
In addition to this, HPA has also ordered the gyms, salons and hair salons to stop immediately with no sports activities to proceed until further notice.
