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A lower surge projected now even during peak: NEOC

National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) has predicted the surge of COVID-19 cases is projected to be low, even during the peak of the outbreak in the Maldives.

Speaking at the daily press briefing held at the NEOC, Dr Ibrahim Afzal from the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) said the surge will be lower than initially anticipated due to proactive preventive measures the country has taken. Dr. Afzal said the lockdown order was key to containing the spread as it has enabled various other countries to mitigate and reduce the surge during peak. He further said the numbers will be significantly lower than projected before although Maldives will see the number of confirmed cases increase during the peak. However, he urged not to be complacent despite the number of cases reduce.

Noting a significant surge of cases has not been identified, Dr. Afzal additionally said the country will be aware of a surge even though the testing capacity remains relatively low as a surge will increase the number of admitted people and consultations in hospitals increase. He said the authorities now have renewed hopes of control as the number of confirmed cases in the Maldives is relatively low as compared to the projected numbers during the peak.