"Covid-19 safety measures being strengthened due to lack of other options"

Health Protection Agency (HPA)’s Technical Advisory Group or TAG, has said that additional Covid-19 safety measures are being imposed as they have run out of other options.

While Covid-19 preventive measures have been strengthened especially in the greater Malé region this month, TAG members made this statement during the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC)’s Covid-19 press briefing on Sunday.

This also led to immense public criticism, specifically their decision to restrict vehicle movement from 8pm to 5am. Social media users had a field day over this, asking questions such as whether vehicles have started testing positive for coronavirus.

However, HPA said that the purpose of this measure is to restrict the movement and activities of youth noting that the most number of cases have been detected within this age group.

Speaking at Sunday’s press conference, TAG leader Dr. Ali Latheef noted that over 900 cases were reported within the past week, and stressed that this is a high number for a country such as Maldives with a relatively small population.

Expressing concern over this, the doctor said that they will not be able to handle the patients if the current daily infections continue, even if there is enough capacity at hospitals.

He also noted that healthcare workers “are now exhausted” and said that if cases continue to spike as such that they might have to trigger a “triage” system i.e decide the order of treatment of patients.

Stressing that the measures were not imposed out of the blue, Dr. Latheef said this is all based on the “double increase” in individuals testing positive at flu clinics as well as spike in cases with no links to confirmed ones and the impact of hospital bed capacity.

Also at the press conference, Dr. Nazla Musthafa expressed the same sentiment at the press conference, emphasizing that nurses especially “are worn out.”

While the lockdown imposed in the capital is being eased out in phases and the country still in the third phase since July 1, Nazla said that there has been a spike in cases “twice or thrice” since.