Spokesperson of the National Emergency Operations Centre Mohamed Mabrook Azeez has stated the Maldives has enough COVID-19 testing kits in the country, adding there will be no shortage as a new stock is also scheduled to arrive very soon.
Speaking at a press conference, the spokesperson said the Maldives currently has 4,220 PCR kits, while an additional 10,000 kits are scheduled to arrive from China by the coming week. Mabrook noted 619 blood testing kits are also currently in stock. He also revealed the 10,000 screening kits donated by Founder of Alibaba Group Jack Ma will also arrive in the Maldives soon.
With the three testing machines in Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) working in full capacity, Health Protection Agency (HPA) will be getting test results daily without delay. IGMH stated earlier it has enough laboratory facilities, equipment and radiologists to carry the tests without any challenges.
The spokesperson said it currently takes 6 to 12 hours to get results of a sample collected, although the other related manual work takes longer. He said the government currently has no concerns in administering the tests.
Additional arrangements in place shared by the spokesperson include setting up screening in collaboration with World Health Organisation (WHO) via GeneXpert Machines installed in 3 regions of the country. He said stocking of testing kits required for GeneXpert Machines are currently underway.
WHO has donated 11,000 COVID-19 screening kits to the Maldives thus far, with an additional 10,000 kits due to arrival soon. Maldives currently has 23 cases reported in the country with 5 current active cases, who are all locals.