Health officials have warned that the hospitals may have to adopt a triage system to treat COVID-19 patients if the number of cases keep increasing.
The number of COVID-19 cases registered in the Maldives have been on the rise over the past couple of weeks, with three digit figures being recorded almost daily. Medical personnel are on the brink of exhaustion, and the capacity at medical facilities are reaching its limit, authorities previously warned.
Speaking at a press conference held by the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) on Sunday night, Dr. Ali Latheef said the number of cases are increasing at alarming rates and that 980 people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week. These numbers are very concerning, he said. The health system will not be able to keep up if the numbers do not decline, he added.
“If 200 or 200 positive cases are recorded daily, the hospital bed capacity will be reached and we will not be able to manage the situation,” he warned.
Noting that it took 56 days to record the first 500 positive cases, it took only 13 days for the number to double to 1,000, said Dr. Ali Latheef. However, the current rates indicate that it takes just 3 or 4 days for the same number of people to get infected, said the doctor.
While the number of patients who require hospitalisation are increasing day by day, the system is facing a shortage of doctors and nurses, due to which several difficulties are being faced, he added.
“Most [COVID-19] deaths across the world were due to patients not receiving the care they needed. If cases keep increasing in Male’, we may be forced to use a triage system in providing treatment. Triage means deciding the order of hospitalisation and treatment of patients based on the degree of urgency. We have not had to resort to a triage system until now, but if the numbers keep increasing, we will have no other option,” said Dr. Ali Latheef. Such a situation would be extremely grave, he added.
