Health Emergency Operations Center HEOC consultant and physician at the National Centre for Respiratory Medicine, IGMH, Dr. Mohamed Ali says the Maldives is currently fighting a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and that the country could already be dealing with a new variant of the virus.
Speaking at the latest news briefing organized by the HEOC, Dr. Mohamed Ali said that chest x-ray of COVID-19 patients who suffer complications shows that both lungs are heavily affected by the disease.
He also said that the pattern of disease spread may point to a new variant currently spreading in the country.
Dr. Mohamed Ali said currently three COVID-19 patients are in critical condition and that they have to be monitored closely. He added that this now requires thrice the staff than before.
The doctor described the treatment regiment for serious COVID patients and said that the patient must be kept on his/her stomach for 14 hours and another 8 hours on his/her back. Dr. Mohamed Ali said that this constant treatment needs strong medical professionals and the lack of nurses and other healthcare workers could overwhelm the whole healthcare system.
In his comments, Dr. Mohamed Ali warned that in case of a surge of new cases, if the necessary precautions are not taken in a timely manner, it could result in a devastating outcome.
He added that all must work to avoid such a disastrous outcome and that all must now act to avoid the further spread of the illness.
The Maldives has been positing record COVID-19 daily numbers for the past three days with more than 1600 new cases reported in the last 72 hours.
