Health Protection Agency HPA Consultant Dr. Sheena Moosa has warned against crowd gathering and spending unnecessary time at social outings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
She made the comments while speaking on a panel discussion hosted by the media’s COVID-19 awareness campaign ‘COVID huttuvaanee Aharen’.
Dr. Sheena said to control the pandemic, the most important step is to follow the guidelines and rules set by the Health Protection Agency HPA.
She said by following these guidelines, the pandemic can be controlled until a vaccine is developed for the illness and in the long run, the illness can only be curbed by following the rules set by the authorities.
Dr. Sheena said once wearing masks was made mandatory, many had now forgotten to wash their hands. She said people need to change their habits both in personal and professional lives to further adapt to the pandemic.
Dr. Sheena reiterated that unless offices and businesses actively implement HPA’s guidelines, the pandemic cannot be controlled in the long run and lifestyle changes must be made to avoid such a situation.
She warned that unless these changes are made, the number of COVID-19 would surge again and more restrictions would then be implemented.
Dr. Sheena advised that when taking children outside, to be mindful to keep their contact bubble to a minimum and not to take them to crowded places. She added that when visiting restaurants to prefer those with less customers and not to spend unnecessary time on such outings.
This comes as the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives worsened this week with confirmation of a community spread in Gaafu Dhaalu Hoadehdhoo with 21 unrelated cases of COVID-19 reported in the island. The island along with the neighboring Madaveli have now been placed under Health Protection Agency HPA monitoring with random sampling for COVID-19 conducted in both islands to assess the community outbreak.
The country has recorded 8584 cases of COVID-19 since March of this year and the pandemic has claimed 29 lives here in the Maldives. This includes 23 Maldivians and 6 foreigners.
