The Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) has revealed that the total number of coronavirus cases discovered from ‘Fiyavathi’, a children’s shelter located in Hulhumalé has risen to 36.

This was revealed by the center’s spokesperson Dr. Nazla Rafeeq during Wednesday night’s press briefing.

As such, the doctor noted that the positive cases include 18 staff members and 18 children.

Following this, 72 contacts identified through contact tracing have been quarantined.

Those in quarantine include 19 staff members and 53 children.

The first case was detected in the children’s shelter on October 1, after samples that were collected from a staff member on September 30, returned positive for the infection. The employee was in charge of taking care of the children aged 10-13 years, all boys, who were quarantined afterward.

Further, the children were moved to another facility under the instructions of HEOC as well as the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

19 samples were taken and two samples, one of a caretaker and the other of a child, returned positive on October 4. The next day, random samples were collected as quarantined were children. On October 6, 10 more cases were identified out of the quarantined individuals; three caretakers and seven children. Another caretaker is to have tested positive on Wednesday according to HEOC. Dr. Nazla noted that some of the contact are considered to come under the high-risk category.

The Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services has since revealed via a statement, that one of the high-risk patients, a child, was transferred to the Hulhumalé Medical Facility (HMF) along with a caretaker. Dr. Nazla on Wednesday revealed that the child is doing well.

In addition, the ministry also decided to move the caretakers and 26 children located on the floor where the contacts were quarantined, elsewhere, after informing the relevant institutions tasked with the responsibility of monitoring them.

HEOC assured that the required precautionary measures have been taken at the shelter, to ensure the virus does not spread further.