Ministry of Health announced on Sunday, that is was seeking PCR machines to conduct testing for the COVID-19 virus, on three different islands; Addu City, Haa Dhaalu Atoll's Kulhudhufushi, and Eydhafushi, Baa Atoll.
At the media briefing held at the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC), the ministry's Deputy Director-General Nayaz Ahmed stated that the government was moving to prepare areas outside of the capital under the COVID-19 response.
However, he did not specify when the machines would arrive at the three islands.
Revealing that the ministry planned for two lab technicians to be present at each island, Nayaz added that their training was now complete.
"Yesterday, [the technician's] training was completed. They are now en route to the islands."
Furthermore, he revealed that the building of facilities was complete in five different areas across Maldives, equipped with necessary medical gear.
Per Nayaz, final training programmes and treatment policies will be finalized in the coming week.
- Addu Facility in Addu Regional Hospital: 23 ICU beds and 22 isolation beds
- Baa Atoll Facility in Baa Atoll Hospital: 20 ICU beds and 37 isolation beds
- Shaviyani Atoll Facility in Shaviyani Atoll Hospital: 20 ICU beds and 37 isolation beds
- Gaafu Alif Atoll Facility in Gaafu Alif Hospital: 23 ICU beds and 12 isolation beds
- Laamu Atoll Facility in Laamu Gan Regional Hospital: 20 ICU beds and 37 isolation beds
Currently, Maldives records a total of 1,903 cases, out of which 1,068 are active cases of COVID-19. The country has marked 827 recoveries and eight deaths.
Since the first confirmed local transmission on April 15, most of the country's cases have been attributed to capital city Malé', one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
WHO has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 7.1 million people and claimed over 406,000 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, 3.4 million people have recovered.
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