Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has stated COVID-19 deaths in the Maldives are classified based on the criteria specified under international guidelines.
Speaking at a press conference, Dr. Moosa Murad from the Clinical Management Department of HEOC said all individuals who have the COVID-19 virus in their body at the time of their death are not declared as COVID-19 deaths. Dr. Murad said such deaths are only classified as COVID-19 death if it was caused by pneumonia, organ failure or other health complications related to COVID-19. He said the death of patients who have underlying health conditions which gets worse due to COVID-19 will also be classified as a COVID-19 death.
Dr. Murad said individuals who die from accidents, poisoning or drug overdose will not be classified as COVID-19 deaths even if they test positive for the disease. He noted there have been similar cases in the Maldives, where individuals who died from other causes subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.
31 individuals have died from COVID-19 so far in the Maldives. Most of the patients who died from COVID-19 in the Maldives were elderly patients or had been undergoing treatment for other permanent illnesses.