National Emergency Operation Center NEOC spokesperson Mohamed Mabrook Azeez concedes that there are major delays in taking samples for Covid-19 with suspected cases of the virus mounting amid the rapid spread of the global pandemic in the Male’ Area.
Answering a question posed by ‘The Press’ regarding the guidelines for sample taking for Covid-19 testing, Mabrook said when taking the sample, priority has been given to individuals with chronic illnesses and to the elderly.
He further said those with symptoms would be prioritized from both these categories and that authorities acknowledge 72-hour delays following the change in the testing strategy.
NEOC spokesperson said HPA was working to clear the backlog of cases and that this should be achieved by the end of tomorrow.
Mabrook highlighted that taking such a huge amount of samples is a tremendous task and that officials are striving to take all the samples within the next two days.
Public complaints regarding the delay in sampling have grown louder these past few days.
A source had told ‘The Press’ that 3 people from the person’s family were tested positive for Covid-19 and only one result came back negative. The person said the other two results were pending and that it had been five days. The person also said that once HPA was notified of this delay, they were not able to clarify whose result was pending and whose result had been given.
Another source shared that the person had contacted HPA via the hotline number after having a fever. The person confirmed that it had been five days since the call and HPA is yet to turn up to take the person’s sample.
