Doctor: Don’t hide it if you are symptomatic, report it

Members of the general public have been urged to report to the health authorities if they show any symptoms consistent with the new coronavirus.

During a press conference at the National Emergency Operations Center on Monday afternoon, Dr. Mohamed Ismail said that the risk of a local outbreak of COVID-19 remained for as long as people continued to travel to Maldives from overseas, and that it was therefore imperative that the public practice social distancing.

13 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives, all of whom are foreign nationals who were either working or vacationing in resorts or safaris. Five of them have since recovered, but continue to be closely monitored in isolation facilities.

Dr. Mohamed Ismail said that the recovery of the five patients did not make the risk the virus posed to the general population any less.

“This does not mean you should stop staying at home. Because people from overseas continue to travel to Maldives. And at the same time, we continue to treat positive cases. And we have people who have had contact with them under isolation,” he said.

Dr. Mohamed Ismail said that the reason why social distancing was important was to reduce the risk of local transmission, because people who tested positive may have transmitted the virus to at least two or three more people.

“The purpose is to break this chain. Because before they recover, and as we continue to conduct contact tracing, because the risk will remain until they test negative,” said Dr. Mohamed Ismail.

He urged anyone, whether in Maldives or overseas, who develops symptoms consistent with COVID-19 not to hide it, but report it to the health authorities and test themselves for the virus.

He also urged everyone to keep track of all the people they have contact with, and all the places they go to.

“In some cases, a person who may have met some time ago from some place may test positive. In these situations, contact tracing becomes very difficult if we don’t know where we went or who we met,” said Dr. Mohamed Ismail.

He urged everyone to remain at home, pointing out that a local outbreak, if it happened, would have catastrophic consequences.

Health Protection Agency (HPA) is currently engaged in conducting contact tracing to identify persons who may have had contact with Belgian football star Marouane Fellaini.

Fellaini, who tested positive for the virus on March 20, had vacationed at the Maldivian resort One&Only Reethi Rah from March 8-12.

Three people who had contact with him have been placed under isolation so far.

They include two people identified as close contacts, who show symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Access in and out of the residences of the two people, located in Male’ City, is now restricted as a precautionary measure.

People who came into contact with Fellaini during his visit to Maldives to have been asked to come forward and report it to the HPA.