Covid-19: cases in Kandima Maldives rise to 50

The total number of Covid-19 cases detected from Kandima Maldives has risen to 50.

Spokesperson of the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC), Dr. Nazla Rafeeq told press on Thursday night, that up until November 1, 20 Covid-19 cases had been confirmed from the resort island, located in Dhaalu atoll.

By the third day of the ongoing month, 30 additional infections were confirmed.

While the first 20 cases were all resort employees, the 30 cases confirmed later included one tourist who tested positive through a departure sample.

This means that the total number of infections in Kandima currently sits at 50.

The resort was placed under monitoring on October 31 following which entering and leaving the island has been restricted until further notice.

Nazla added that tourists who have made bookings with the resort are being diverted to other resorts currently and tourists who are currently in the resort and are scheduled to depart from the Maldives will need to conduct PCR testing and will only be allowed to leave if their test result come back negative.

The spokesperson also revealed that there are a nurse and healthcare worker active in the Dhaalu Atoll Hospital.

A 60-year-old Maldivian employee in the resort passed away close to 10pm on October 30 and authorities took samples from him as he had exhibited Covid-19 symptoms. His test results came back positive the next day, which marked his death, the 38th death to the pandemic in the island nation.