A suspected case of coronavirus has been found in the Maldives, reveals the Ministry of Health.

During a press conference on Thursday night, the ministry revealed that a 20-year-old Maldivian male is suspected to have the infection. Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen stated that samples have been taken from the individual and sent to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for testing.

Explaining the WHO protocol to screen for coronavirus, the minister stated that the screening procedure includes checking if individuals visited Wuhan City where the outbreak originated from and checking whether the individual visited any meat market in China 14 days before showing symptoms.

He further revealed that the 20-year-old suspected of infection developed the flu after returning from a trip to China on Wednesday night and that upon checking the youth's travel history during the hospital's screening process, it was discovered that the youth had visited a meat market during his trip to the southeastern nation.

Although the ministry noted that the youth was not detected by the thermal cameras at Velana International Airport (VIA), the ministry stressed that all tests on the youth have turned out normal and had not been in contact with others since his return.

While the ministry stated that the youth has yet to show any serious symptoms aside from the flu, he is currently being kept in isolation at the quarantine facility established at Funadhoo island near the capital city.