The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) has revealed that a machine being used for COVID-19 testing at state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) is currently out of order.
NEOC's spokesperson Mabrook Azeez said IGMH had two machines used for COVID-19 testing out of which one machine is malfunctioning. While 700 samples were being tested on average prior to the interruption, the current capacity is at 500-540, said Mabrook, adding that the hospital is in the process of ordering the parts needed for fixing the machine.
Mabrook noted that the number of daily tests being tested have not decreased despite one machine being out of order.
Testing is also being carried out at the police forensics lab and privately run ADK Hospital in addition to IGMH. While ADK has the capacity to test 500 samples per day, the police lab can test up to 145 samples in a day. 800 - 900 tests are being conducted on average in the Maldives.
