Maldives confirms two cases of Coronavirus, two islands lockdown

The Maldives has confirmed its first two cases of deadly coronavirus outbreak on March 7 and placed two of its islands under effective quarantine, as authorities conducted further tests to contain the spread of the disease. As per the reports, the two infected people are expected to

have caught the disease from an Italian tourist who had returned to Italy and tested positive there. The tourism minister, Ali Waheed reportedly said that the two cases that tested positive are from a resort and the employees of the resort are now quarantined.

He added that the economy of the country is mainly dependent on foreign tourists. Earlier, the Maldives Health Protection Agency reportedly said that two French nationals who showed symptoms on a second island had been put under isolation. The health authorities reportedly said that they had restricted travel to and from the Kuredu Island Resort and the Summer Island resort. It was not clear how many tourists were under lockdown on each of the islands.

“An employee at the resort is also exhibiting symptoms of the virus,” the minister said. Therefore, the resort has been placed on lockdown until the results of the employee’s tests are received. No persons will be allowed to enter or get off the islands for the time being, said the minister.

Summer Island confirmed in a statement that it had been placed under temporary quarantine while it awaits test results on the two guests and a resort doctor, an Indian national who also began to show symptoms after treating the two guests.

The government has temporarily suspended all arrivals from Italy as a precautionary measure.

While over 100,000 people have been infected with the virus across the globe, over 4000 people have been infected in Italy. Italy records thesecond-most number of deaths due to the virus, with a death toll of almost 200.

The government has also placed entry restrictions on those arriving from China, parts of South Korea. The restriction on those arriving from China was imposed on February 2, while a similar restriction on those arriving from Iran was placed on February 26. The decision to barr entry to tourists arriving from South Korean destinations was announced last week.

Additionally, all inbound flights arriving from China have been indefinitely suspended. (|https://www.republicworld.com)