Former President Mohamed Nasheed PHOTO:AFP
Former President Mohamed Nasheed in a tweet on Wednesday called for more frequent sharing of official information regarding the current swine flu epidemic with the public to ensure maximum precaution and prevention against the H1N1 virus.
In his tweet amidst the ongoing spread of flu in the Maldives with several people testing positive for swine flu, Nasheed stated that the general health system must be decentralised for effective prevention and treatments.
Calling for increased sharing of information by the government regarding the epidemic, he also referred to the increasing number of patients with flu in the two main hospitals in capital Male and said that such overcrowding would be disastrous.
Meanwhile, main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has accused the government of covering up cases of swine flu discovered in the Maldives a month and a half ago, blaming the state for negligence with regards to public health.
Two people have died of swine flu so far while over 80 people tested positive. State run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and privately run ADK Hospital in Male have established flu clinics to treat and control the spread of swine flu while the government has closed all schools and universities temporarily. The state has further urged people to not travel unless necessary.