The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) has revealed that authorities have caught one of the three Bangladeshi nationals who went into hiding after testing positive for the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19).

This was revealed by the Covid-19 spokesperson Mohamed Mabrook Aziz during a routinely press briefing on Thursday night.

Mabrook revealed that authorities are still continuing the search for the remaining two.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) earlier sought assistance from the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to look for seven Bangladeshi nationals who went missing in action after testing positive for the virus through random testing.

Officers were able to track down four of them previously and one of them has since been placed on a ventilator.

As per protocol, the Director General of Public Health, Maimoona Aboobakuru will publicize personal information of those in hiding, if they do not present themselves to the authorities. The Director General of public health is authorized to do so under powers vested to her by the Public Health Act.

Thus far, the HPA has not had to disclose personal information of a Covid-19 patient, however, individuals have been warned that their information will be publicized if they do not follow authorities’ instructions.

This comes at a time a number of Bangladeshi nationals have been testing positive for coronavirus of recent, as such, a majority of the Covid-19 cases discovered in the Greater Malé Region are of Bangladeshi nationals who are forced to reside in confined living spaces in poor conditions.

Authorities have since begun work to transfer them to better facilities, and are also working with the Bangladeshi government to repatriate a number of them, stranded in the Maldives.