COVID-19: 7-year-old remains in critical condition

Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) states the condition of the seven-year-old who was put on a ventilator after contracting COVID-19 remains unchanged.

The seven-year-old is a kidney patient. The child grew critically ill after contracting COVID-19.

In a press conference by HEOC on Saturday evening, Dr. Ibrahim Afzal, an ideologist from Health Protection Agency (HPA), said the condition of the child remains critical.

“According to the information we have, the child is still on a ventilator. There haven’t been any changes to the condition. Still considered a critical patient,” he said.

 The seven-year-old is the youngest COVID-19 patient in Maldives to develop serious illness.

Maldives has been experiencing a surge in both infection rate and fatalities in recent weeks.

The country currently has over 24,000 active cases, 240 of them children.

According to information released by HPA, an average of 52 children below the age of 10 years test positive for COVID-19 each day.

Over 5,000 children under the age of 10 years have tested positive so far this year.

As such young children are ineligible for vaccines, they remain at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 as well as developing serious illness.

HPA has advised for parents and guardians to avoid taking children outside in order to reduce their exposure to COVID-19 and keep them safe.