All samples taken from Himmafushi island, following the confirmation of Covid-19 cases at a rehab facility on the island, have tested negative to the virus.

This was revealed at Tuesday night’s Covid-19 press briefing at the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC).

Noting that 146 samples were collected from the island following the detection of cases at the Himmafushi Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DTRC), NEOC’s spokesperson Mohamed Mabrook Aziz stated that they came back negative.

36 random samples were from DTRC, 37 from the HImmafushi Asseyri Prison, 45 from the Industrial Zone and 28 from within the island.

Three clients at DTRC tested positive on Friday, and while there were questions over how the virus reached the facility given that officials had said that the placed had been on lockdown, details of this case were shared at Saturday’s press briefing.

As such, Dr. Nazla Rafeeq said that their investigation showed that some of the staff had left the facility without the knowledge of their superiors.

Further, one of those that tested positive from the rehab was a client that checked in on April 14 and Dr. Nazla said that an individual from a house that they had visited prior to checking in at the facility had also tested positive.

She added that this could be where the virus originated from, but stressed that this was not clear.