National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) has stated figures from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reveals there are 7,501 Maldivians currently residing abroad.
Many Maldivians residing abroad have registered with embassies and diplomatic missions established in other countries amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Spokesperson of NEOC Mohamed Mabrook Azeez said although a total of 8,058 Maldivians registered with the foreign ministry, the number of people residing abroad has decreased to 7,501 as the rest have returned home. Mabrook said the government is closely monitoring the situation of the spread of COVID-19 across different countries, noting many countries Maldivians travel to have been in lockdown after suspending all travel and movement. He urged on the importance of registering with the ministry in order for the government to better attend to situations.
Speaking to the press regarding the latest updates, Mabrook said while the country has taken samples from a total of 1093 individuals, 1,065 have tested negative, and results of 10 samples are currently pending. While the country has had 18 positive cases, all except for three Maldivians who recently tested positive have fully recovered.
While 77 individuals have been in isolation following contact tracing, an additional 20 individuals have been quarantined due to the development of symptoms. Out of the 20 individuals, 17 are quarantined in Velidu Island Resort while 3 individuals remain in Dharumavantha Hospital. The total number of individuals in quarantine facilities is now 867.
Health Protection Agency has recently revealed that the people in isolation will only be permitted to leave the facilities after 14 days from the date of transfer to the isolation facility.