National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) has stated the confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the Maldives on a daily basis have started decreasing following preventive measures by the government and the general public.
Speaking at the daily press briefing held at the NEOC, Dr. Ibrahim Afzal from the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) stated testing for COVID-19 has increased with over 350 tests conducted every 24 hours. Dr. Afzal detailed 300, 555, 472 and 506 tests were administered every day from May 13 to 16 respectively. However, he noted a decrease has been observed in the number of daily confirmed cases in the Maldives.
The doctor stated the success the country is observing against COVID-19 is the result of the public following instruction from authorities to social distance and stay indoors unless necessary. He said if the current trend continues, the authorities will be able to maintain the figures and contain the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, he stated the actual cases reported during the peak period will significantly be lower than the initially projected figures.
The cases daily reported in the Maldives is currently very low, although it was earlier projected COVID-19 would hit its peak in the last two weeks of May. TAG will revise the projections with the curve flattening significantly.
Dr. Afzal said the Health Protection Agency (HPA) will consider the revised projections once it is ready, before making a decision on lifting or extending the current lockdown in place in the Greater Male' Region. In response to a question about the dropped numbers, he said the numbers have fallen due to the lockdown as it is deemed an important step to contain the spread of COVID-19. He also acknowledged many businesses have established protective measures, adding the general public practices social distancing and wearing marks.