The Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) on Wednesday said it is unsafe to reduce the duration of quarantine at this time.
A quarantine period of 14 days has to be completed by those who test positive for the virus, and those who come in contact with a positive patient. Additionally, those who travel to islands from capital Male’ and those that come back to the country from abroad have to complete the required quarantine period. However, the duration differs from country to country. Some countries have quarantine periods as long as 28 days while some have decreased the duration to ten days.
Dr. Ibrahim Afzal from the Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) said it is not safe to shorten the quarantine period being used in Maldives based on the current circumstance. No discussions have taken place to date, and any such decisions will be taken on the advise of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), said the doctor.
Afzal said discussions on shortening the duration of quarantine will take place in due time at a later stage.
Some number of people who have to be quarantined refused to cooperate with the authorities in isolating themselves. Those who does not have the means to stay in home quarantine also refuse to isolate at state-designated quarantine facilities.
The Maldives has recorded 11,316 cases of COVID-19 to date. While 37 deaths have been recorded, the recovery percentage is over 90 percent of COVID-19 patients.
