Health Ministry: Goal is to control COVID surge without closing schools

Health Ministry states the government aims to control the surge in COVID-19 cases in Maldives without closing schools. 

In a press conference on Tuesday morning, State Minister for Health Dr. Shah Mahir said the government was working to improve the operations of the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) and control the surge in COVID-19 cases, but aimed to cause minimal disruption. 

Shah said the government aimed to control the surge without closing schools and offices. 

The remark comes with Maldives braced to reopen schools for the second term next week, as it battles a surge in COVID-19 cases, especially in the Maldivian capital – where Health Protection Agency as confirmed a community spread of the Omicron variant. 

Shah said that the government was seeking volunteers and additional human resources to improve the running of HEOC. 

He said that controlling the surge in COVID-19 cases required collective effort, and noted the cooperation from the public in successfully controlling previous surges. 

Shah said that people were becoming more “relaxed” with measures, and urged people to adhere to measures such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. 

Maldives has 98,506 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 454 new cases recorded on Monday. 94,404 patients have since recovered, while 264 have died from complications. 

The country currently has 3,825 active cases. 21 of the patients are hospitalized.