Health Protection Agency (HPA) has stated the peak of the current wave of COVID-19 cases in the Maldives is expected to be higher than the peaks experienced in previous waves of the disease.
Epidemiologist at HPA Dr. Ibrahim Afzal noted the Maldives is now facing its fourth wave of cases since COVID-19 was first detected in the country in March 2020. Dr. Afzal said the peak of the current wave is expected to be much higher than previous waves, as the new Omicron variant is highly transmissible and is accelerating the spread of the disease. He added although the severity of disease caused by the Omicron variant is generally low, the high case numbers could lead to a large number of hospitalisations, and overload the healthcare services.
Furthermore, Dr. Afzal said the new wave is also expected to last longer than previous waves due to the high number of cases. As such, he noted while the last wave in May 2021 lasted about a month, the current wave is expected to last more than a month.
HPA has tightened restrictions across the country once again following the increase in COVID-19 cases. As such, HPA has placed controls in gatherings and restricted travel across atolls by mandating PCR tests.