The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) has revealed that the Maldives has received a consignment of essential equipment, including 5,000 additional testing kits.

During a routinely press briefing on Thursday night, the Covid-19 task force spokesperson, Mohamed Mabrook Aziz revealed that a cargo boat landed on Thursday night after trips to Singapore and Thailand.

The consignment includes 5,000 testing kits, 5,000 face masks, 500 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) sets and 15 Bypass Noninvasive Ventilator sets.

In an earlier press conference, Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen had revealed that Maldives had the capacity to test about 50 – 100 samples for Covid-19 at the start but that it has since increased to 400 samples.

Tests are currently being conducted at two laboratories in the Maldives, said the minister.

These two laboratories are stationed at the state-run Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) as well as the Maldives Police Service (MPS).