Authorities have identified a total of 242 contacts of the recent three confirmed Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in the Maldives, which was discovered from the Maldives capital, Malé City on Wednesday.

Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday evening, the spokesperson for all things Covid-19, Mabrook Aziz revealed that patient 22 is the child of patient 21, a Maldivian woman.

The third case, patient 23, was identified as "a direct contact" of the first case.

These are the first cases labeled by authorities as a community transmission.

Out of the total, 207 individuals had come in contact with patients 21 and 22, with 35 individuals coming in contact with patient 23.

Further, out of the 207 individuals identified as contacts of the first two cases in the capital, 75 have been identified as high-risk contacts, 43 as medium-risk and 83 at low-risk.

Out of the 35 contacts in connection to patient 23, seven are at high risk, and 28 have a medium risk of contracting the virus.

The Covid-19 spokesperson stressed that the high number is the consequence of social gatherings, fishing trips as well as household visits.

The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) also appealed on the people to reach out if anyone had come in close contact with all three cases.

In addition, Mabrook revealed that a total of 69 individuals will be released from quarantine at a time on Thursday.