Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has stated no decision has been made on lifting the restrictions imposed in the Maldives due to the spread of COVID-19.
Speaking at a press conference, Spokesperson of HEOC Dr. Fathimath Nazla Rafeeq refuted claims that the government has decided to permit travelling to islands without quarantine. Dr. Nazla said no such decision has been taken, noting any decisions on lifting the restrictions will be strictly based on the percentage of cases detected from flu clinics and the number of unlinked cases detected on a daily basis. She said HEOC will publicly announce any such decision when it is made.
Speaking further, the spokesperson reiterated the call to provide cooperation for the seroprevalence study launched in the Greater Male’ Region. Noting the study is very important to determine the current situation of COVID-19 in the Maldives, Dr. Nazla called on individuals who have been selected for the study to cooperate with Health Protection Agency (HPA) in providing samples for the study. She added a certain number of samples are needed to ensure the scientific validity of the study.
The seroprevalence study aims to identify the percentage of people in the community who have had past exposure to the virus and recovered. As such, the study aims to determine how much the community has been exposed to the virus, and identify the level of immunity among individuals.
The antibody testing under the seroprevalence study is being done collectively by HPA and Maldives National University (MNU). During the first round of the study, blood samples were obtained from children under the age of 18. The study is currently in its second round, with blood samples taken from selected individuals who are notified via text message.
Four locations have been allocated in the Greater Male’ Region to obtain samples for the study. As such, sampling is carried out in the MNU Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of Education in Male’, as well as Hulhumale’ Gems Preschool and Villimale’ Hospital. Sampling is carried out every day from 1600hrs to 1900hrs.