President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has revealed that all three being monitored after symptoms for the novel coronavirus, have tested negative to the deadly disease.

Delivering his presidential address on Monday morning at the inaugural sitting of the People’s Majlis, Solih revealed that he had received the results of all three being monitored on suspicious of the infection.

As such, the president highlighted that all three tested negative to the infection. The blood samples of all three were sent to Pune, India earlier for testing as the service is currently unavailable in Maldives.

However, Solih stressed that Maldives is still at risk of a coronavirus outbreak and that the government is working with all relevant stakeholders with a mutual aim to curb the disease from surfacing in the country, and are closely following the recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO). The president also established a special task force following the WHO having declared the coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.

Solih went on to stress the this is also a challenge for the economy of the country. While 13,287 bookings were cancelled up until Sunday, Solih stated that there is much to be done to promote Maldives tourism globally, throughout this year.

Further, the president noted that some of the international flights to Maldives were temporarily halted as the government highly prioritizes public health. He assured the public that the government is implementing all the required measures to curb the deadly virus from surfacing in the Maldives.

All three Maldivians were isolated at the quarantine zone in Funadhoo island of Kaafu atoll, the first case was reported on Thursday after a 20-year-old returned from China and came down with a fever. The remaining cases were reported on Friday.

The epidemic began from Wuhan City, China in December 2019 and it has so far killed over 360 people and infected over 17,000 globally.