Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has stated a second lockdown may be needed if the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives does not improve in the coming days.
Speaking at the daily press briefing held at HEOC, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed from the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) said the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives is extremely concerning, with the number of hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths increasing at an alarming rate. Noting over 60% of the COVID-19 hospital beds established in the Greater Male’ Region are already occupied, Dr. Shaheed said the number of COVID-19 cases could soon exceed the healthcare capacity of the country if the situation does not improve. He said a second lockdown would be necessary in such a situation.
Dr. Shaheed also shared details of the scoring system used to assess the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives. In this regard, the doctor noted the scoring system is based on five main factors, which are the percentage of positive cases from flu clinics, percentage of hospital admissions, time taken to double the number of cases, number of cases which are not linked to existing clusters and the weekly death rate. He said a score of 1-3 is given to each factor to obtain total score, which is used as an indicator of the COVID-19 situation in the country.
The doctor noted a total score below 5 represents a good situation, while a score between 5-10 would mean better restrictive measures are required. He said a score above 10 represents a very bad situation where strict measures are needed to control the spread of the disease.
Noting the current score is 9, Dr. Shaheed said the score is very close to a situation where a lockdown would be necessary. However, he said the authorities are still trying to control the spread of COVID-19 without forcing a lockdown, as it would have serious impacts on the economy as well as healthcare which is not related to COVID-19.
Dr. Shaheed called on the public to fulfill the individual responsibility of each and every citizen, by practicing social distancing, staying indoors unless absolutely necessary and wearing face masks when in public at all times. He called on the public to follow the guidelines of Health Protection Agency (HPA) at home as well as in the workplace in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.