The Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has stated that it is unsafe to shorten the quarantine period in the country’s current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Member of HPA’s Technical Advisory Group, Dr. Nazla Musthafa said 14 days is the safest duration for quarantining those who travel from Male’ to the atolls. Those who travel from Male’ have to complete the quarantine as community transmissions have been active in Male’ since April 15.
Speaking to the press on Thursday night, Dr. Nazla stressed on the need to complete the quarantine for 14 days as the situation in Male’ still remains the same. Shortening the quarantine period to five days would increase the number of COVID-19 infections, and chances are that 45 percent of cases would go undetected, said the doctor. If the duration is shortened to seven days, 20 percent of cases may go undetected. Shortening the period to 11 days would still mean that three percent of cases would remain undetected, she added. Dr. Nazla noted that countries that have been hailed as successful in the fight against COVID-19, such as New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia use a similar quarantine model.
While these are factors that could spread the infection to the atolls, and while a quarantine period of 14 days will ensure 99 percent of cases are detected, it is therefore unsafe to shorten the duration, said Dr. Nazla.
The precautionary measures in the islands are not upto the best standards, and there are several challenges to fully implementing the measures in the islands, which could in turn lead to an outbreak, said Dr. Nazla. Noting that the healthcare systems in the atolls are not strong enough, any outbreak could potentially lead to very dire situations, she added. The residents of the islands must be protected, said the doctor.
When asked regarding the regulations that allow officials from the government to travel to islands without undergoing quarantine, Dr. Nazla did not give a clear answer. Instead, she recommended not to have any functions in islands unless absolutely necessary.
