Malé, Maldives – Epidemiologist at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) Dr Ibrahim Afzal on Tuesday cautioned the nation as Maldives is set to enter a fourth wave larger than any faced before.
During an interview with PSM, Dr Afzal stated that although the previous third wave caused by the Delta variant was concentrated to the capital city Malé, the impending fourth wave caused by the Omicron variant will hit nationwide.
We fear that the new wave will be bigger than the [third] wave in May last year. This new wave is caused by the Omicron variant.
Dr Ibrahim Afzal, Epidemiologist, Health Protection Agency
Dr Afzal also warned that the Covid-19 positivity rate for the past two days have surged above 25 percent.
Encouraging the public to get boosted, Dr Afzal stated that the booster dose will provide added protection for those fully vaccinated 6 months prior as the vaccine efficacy reduces with time.
1 in 3 people are likely to test positive for Covid-19.
Dr Ibrahim Afzal, Epidemiologist, Health Protection Agency
The island nation has escalated the Covid-19 status to red as the total number of new cases recorded as of yesterday surged to 1594, with 857 cases recorded in the Greater Malé area and 438 in the inhabited islands. 118 cases were recorded from operational resorts in the Maldives and 2 from live aboards.
There are 8,079 active cases in the country with 40 Covid-19 patients are being treated in the hospitals.
