Islanders of Baa Kudarikilu have protested and closed down the island's Health Center due to the lack of a doctor on the island as the number of flu cases soar.
As the number of COVID cases has dramatically increased in the country, reported cases of Norovirus (Vomiting bug) have also spiked. The symptoms of the bug include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Authorities had confirmed 3,491 cases of the bug in the country on the first 11 days of this year.
Speaking to "The Press" President of Kudarikilu Council Abdul Hannan Abbas said that 20 people on the island are now being treated for the bug and that the islanders had been voicing their anger at the lack of a doctor on the island.
He also said that the public's anger had boiled over onto the streets where they had closed down the Health Center.
Hannan said generally when the usual doctor goes on leave, the Health Ministry sends over a temporary doctor in a day or two but this time around it has been 10 days since the usual doctor went on leave.
He added that the doctor had been granted leave after asking for three months.
The Council President had said that without a doctor for consultation, officials had been taking patients to the health Center for online consultations but this process means the patient has to spend two to three hours at the center.
Hannan also said that he had come to know that the doctor coming to the island would be arriving in the Maldives sometime today.
