Dr. Nazla: Identifying the source vital to curbing an outbreak in Male’

Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Wednesday, said that identification of how the patient who tested positive for COVID-19 from Male’ City contracted the disease was vital to curbing an outbreak within the populous capital.

Male’ City identified its first COVID-19 case earlier this Wednesday; a woman who resides in the Maafannu district of the capital who has no recent travel history overseas.

At a National Emergency Operations Center press briefing this evening, Dr. Nazla Rafeeq, a Medical Officer at HPA, said the agency was working on identifying how the patient contracted the disease.

She said that identifying how the patient contracted the disease was vital to curbing an outbreak in Male’.

“Identifying the source from which the patient contracted the disease; this is of equal importance to us at this time as contact tracing in order to control the spread. Our teams are working speedily on both these tasks,” said Dr, Nazla.

Dr. Nazla said HPA was working on identifying the people who had contact with the patient, starting from two days prior to getting symptomatic.

“We have isolated 54 direct contacts so far. And additional contact tracing continues at a rapid pace. We believe more will be isolated today,” said Dr. Nazla.

She said the HPA was also making lists of all the people the close contacts of the patients had contact with, as a precautionary manner.

While they have not been ordered to strict isolation, they have been instructed to practice home-isolation, she said.

“It total, there are approximately four houses.  And people who the patient had contact with, in going to the doctor, and in various other ways,” said Dr. Nazla.