"If testing capacity is not increased, the projected Covid-19 surge will not be detected"

If testing capacity is not increased, projected Covid-19 surge will not be detected.

Dr. Ibrahim Afzal made the statement at Tuesday night’s Covid-19 press conference at the National Emergency Operations Center.

While a surge in number of cases is projected in the next two weeks with a peak expected on the 31st, the doctor said that the surge can only be detected “if testing capacity is increased”.

Reiterating that half of the confirmed Covid-19 patients in the Maldives are asymptomatic, Dr. Afzal stated that without adequate testing “most cases will not be detected”.

Furthermore, the doctor stressed that this can only be confirmed “through active surveillance”.

Dr. Afzal also called on the public to follow movement restriction and infection prevention measures, and added that this will see a change in spread rate.

The revised Covid-19 projections have significantly reduced following the imposition of a lockdown the greater Malé region, however, authorities are still concerned over the estimated numbers as it could overload the health system.

At a press conference held last week, infectious diseases’ expert Dr. Sheena Moosa had also expressed concern over the country’s Covid-19 testing capacity.

Noting that test rates “are low”, Dr. Sheena stressed “reported numbers are not infection numbers”.

According to these new projections, over 1,500 cases are expected to be detected on peak day given adequate testing. However, at the current testing capacity rate, less than half of this will be detected.

Noting that various work is being done to increase testing capacity, Covid-19 taskforce’s spokesperson previously said that an additional Covid-19 testing machine will arrive in the country on May 17.

While the country currently has the capacity to carry out 200-300 tests a day, Mohamed Mabrook Aziz said that an additional 200 – 250 tests will be carried out per day with the additional machine.

The spokesperson also highlighted the various difficulties in acquiring these machines, including the demand for them throughout the world as well as the travel restrictions imposed in various countries.

Covid-19 testing is currently being conducted at two laboratories in the Maldives; at the National Reference Laboratory at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and the Forensic Laboratory at Maldives Police Service.