Covid-19 contact tracing will only be conducted for high-risk persons: HEOC
Maldives now reporting 1,500 new cases of Covid-19 on average every day
Residents of Male' City walk through crowded streets on New Years Day 2021
The Health Emergenecy Operations Center (HEOC) has revealed that contact tracing will now be conducted in Male' City only for those considered at high-risk of complications from Covid-19.
Aminath Aroosha, who contributes to leading the HEOC's Contact Tracing apparatus, stated that authorities were facing difficulties in conducting contact tracing due to the surge in Covid-19 cases across the Maldives. She stated that there were challenges to identifying positive cases and those that had come into contact with them, especially high-risk persons.
Aroosha stated that with the changes brought to the contact tracing mechanism, authorities would only be tracking high-risk persons known to have come in contact with Covid-positive patients in the Greater Male' Area. She added that the change was to ensure that those at a greater risk of complications from Covid-19 would receive the best possible care without delays amid the ongoing pandemic.
Persons above the age of 60, children below the age of one, pregnant women, persons receiving medical treatment for chronic conditions, disabled people and those with respiratory issues are considered at high risk of complications from Covid-19.
The new changes to contact tracing which will see authorities track only those considered at high risk for Covid-19 will only be applicable in the Greater Male' Area. Normal contact tracing efforts are to proceed unchanged in other islands of the Maldives.
HEOC has revealed that while contact tracing will only be conducted for high-risk persons in Male' City, residents will still have the option to report themselves as direct contacts of Covid-positive patients.
