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COVID-19: 6 detainees, 1 inmate test positive in Maldives

Shahudha Mohamed
31 August 2020, MVT 17:35
Hulhumale' Detention Centre. Maldives Correctional Sevice confirmed that six detainees at the centre tested positive for COVID-19. PHOTO: MIHAARU
Shahudha Mohamed
31 August 2020, MVT 17:35

Maldives Correctional Service confirmed last week that seven individuals under custody tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives.

According to a statement released by Correctional Service, the positive cases include five expatriates in custody until repatriation, at Hulhumale' Detention Centre as well as one local serving time at Hulhumale' Prison.

The authority speculated that COVID-19 entered the detention centre via recently transferred expat workers.

Correctional Service revealed that samples were collected from 10 officers, two nurses, 31 detainees and 41 inmates following this development.

The samples of 10 officers, collected on August 28, came back negative, along with the samples of 19 inmates and 16 detainees, as per the authority.

Results are now pending for 15 inmates and 10 detainees.

The island nation now records total 7,667 confirmed and 2,597 active COVID-19 cases, along with 5,036 recoveries and 28 deaths.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Maldives skyrocketed after the state initiated efforts to steer the country towards a 'new normal' with the phased easing of lockdown restrictions across the Greater Male' Region.

As one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Maldives' capital Malé continues to record a significant number of COVID-19 cases, similar to the first weeks following the first confirmed local transmission on April 15.

On March 12, WHO classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. To date, the new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 25.4 million people and claimed over 851,078 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 17.7 million people have recovered.

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