Male, Maldives (CU)_ The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has reduced the quarantine and isolation period for Covid-positive individuals and direct contacts to ten days provided they have received all recommended vaccine doses. The agency’s Medical Officer Dr. Nazla Rafeeq addressed the media during a news conference on Tuesday and stated that this decision was taken after examining all the data they had received in the last two years concerning the virus and the sickness.
HPA arranged this media conference in anticipation of a spike in Covid-19 cases in the Maldives over the coming weeks. They advised everyone to be diligent in their hygiene practices and preventative steps in order to withstand the Omicron surge. Dr. Nazla said, “People that have not been fully vaccinated will still have to be quarantined for 14 days. They will be released after doing a PCR test, and if they receive a negative result”.
Previously, the quarantine time for individuals who tested positive for Covid and those who were infected was 14 days. However, Dr. Nazla stated that the quarantine period has been shortened to 10 days from the day of sample collection. If direct contacts of a Covid positive patient are completely vaccinated and exhibit no symptoms, they have two options to follow: complete a ten-day quarantine or undergo quarantine for five days and do a PCR test.
According to Dr. Nazla, if a person does not exhibit any symptoms at the conclusion of the ten-day period, additional testing is not necessary. However, testing is required if they exhibit symptoms during the quarantine period. She also spoke about the quarantine period for unvaccinated individuals. She said, “People that have not been fully vaccinated will still have to quarantine for 14 days. They will be released after doing a PCR test, and if they receive a negative result”.
