Number of COVID-19 cases rises to 6 in Maldives

The Maldives Health Protection Agency said on Tuesday that two new cases of the COVID-19 were detected at the Kuredu Island resort, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the island country to six.

Local media quoted government spokesperson Mabrook Abdul Azeez as reporting that all the six positive cases were foreign nationals and strict quarantine measures were in place to prevent the virus from spreading further.

On Saturday, two foreign employees at the Kuredu Island resort tested positive for the virus after they came in contact with an Italian tourist who tested positive for the virus after he returned to Italy.

A day later, two Italian tourists at the Sandies Bathala Resort had also tested positive for the virus.

Both the Kuredu Island and the Sandies Bathala Resort Island have been placed on lockdown. Entry to and exit from the islands have been indefinitely restricted, Mabrook said.

The Maldives Health Protection Agency said the situation of Kuredu Island Resort and Sandies Bathalaa Resort was being closely monitored. Currently, there are 699 tourists, 270 Maldivian employees and 470 foreign employees in the resorts, and of them, 90 have been kept in isolation.