Dr. Sheena: Situation dire, time has come for a lockdown

Local epidemiologist Dr. Sheena Moosa warned on Sunday that the coronavirus situation in Maldives has worsened to the level the country needs to re-impose a full lockdown.

In an appearance on RaajjeTV’s Habaru Feetha show on Sunday afternoon, Dr. Sheena said that Health Protection Agency (HPA) had been aware of the likelihood of a surge in cases when authorities had relaxed the lockdown in phases.

 She said that the authorities had issues guidelines and relaxed the lockdown with the hope the public will comply with the safety measures.

“The hope was that the guidelines will be followed. So that we are able to keep the situation at a controllable leve. That was the hope. We gradually relaxed [the lockdown] based on this,” she said.

Dr. Sheena said that the disease is spreading at a faster rate than had been expected.

She said that the escalation is due to failure to fully comply with the guidelines for various reasons.

Dr. Sheena said the risk of the disease spreading to a large percentage of the population remains very real.

“Because an immune reaction comes after a person is infected. So, a large percentage of the Maldivian population has yet to be infected, and are at risk of getting infected,” she said.

Dr. Sheena said that had been the reason why the authorities had prepared guideline and relaxed the lockdown in phases.

She said that the previous lockdown had given the healthcare system time to increase its capacity to a certain extent and improve preparedness.

Dr. Sheena said the authorities continue to monitor the coronavirus situation by taking into consideration the rate of infection, the capacity of the healthcare system, the rate of hospital bed occupancy, and how much the system can cater to the need for hospitalized treatment.

Stressing that it will take time for the outcomes of restrictive measures to become visible, Dr. Sheena said that Maldives is just one point away from needing to re-impose a lockdown, based on the weekly indicators.

She said that 62 percent of the hospital beds in the greater Male’ region for coronavirus patients are now occupied, including more than 150 of the 200 beds in the Hulhumale’ medical facility.

Dr. Sheena said that given the high infection rate and the increasing number of patients who require hospitalized treatment, a movement restriction is necessary to bring down cases to a manageable level so that the health system is not overstretched.

“I personally believe the time has come for a lockdown. But how will we manage, in light of the socioeconomic situation? The question is, will we be able to manage this without a lockdown? How can we manage this?” she said.

Dr. there aren’t enough doctors and nurses to cater to the increasing number of coronavirus patients.