Possibility of four variants circulating in the Maldives: HEOC The Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has stated that it is possible that four different variants of COVID-19 are circulating in the Maldives.
Speaking at a press conference held Wednesday night, member of HEOC’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Dr. Nazla Musthafa said the COVID-19 variant identified in the UK is circulating in the Maldives. While four different variants have been identified across the world, it is possible that all four variants are present in the Maldives, said Dr. Nazla.
“We will know more regarding the variants present in the country once we carry out sequencing via the kits we have with us. The kits already show signs that the UK variant is present in the Maldives. Therefore, we can say the variant is present in the Maldives. However, while there are four variants which are the UK, South African, Brazilian and the Danish variant, we have sent [samples] for sequencing , said Dr. Nazla.
The Edition
Shahudha Mohamed
02 February 2021, MVT 21:34
Public health expert Dr Sheena Moosa speaks at a media briefing hosted by the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC). PHOTO: HEOC
Shahudha Mohamed
02 February 2021, MVT 21:34
The Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC), on Tuesday, declared Maldives a “high risk” country, with its sudden surge of COVID-19 cases.
Speaking at a press briefing held by HEOC, public health expert Dr Sheena Moosa attributed the steep increase of virus cases to the fact that 30 percent of the newly identified infections consist of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant which emerged in the United Kingdom (UK) late last year.