President's Office's Communications Undersecretary Mabrouq Abdul Azeez revealed on Monday that two buildings in capital Malé was being closely monitored, in relation to the Fellaini case.
Speaking at a press conference by National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), Mabrouq stated that individuals who came into direct contact with Belgium footballer Marouane Fellaini, who tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning to China from holidaying in the Maldives, are residing in both buildings.
Furthermore, he stated that contact tracing was underway to identify more individuals that they may have come into contact with.
The former Manchester United midfielder was confirmed with the infection on March 20, after he arrived in China where he now plays for Chinese Club Shandong Luneng.
Although Fellaini returned to China following his vacation at One and Only Reethi Rah in Maldives, Mabrouq assured that the footballer did not enter Maldives via China route.
The resort was notified immediately after Fellaini tested positive, and Mabrouq added that any high risk contacts in Reethi Rah was now being identified through contact tracing.
NEOC formerly said that there was a possibility that Fellaini became infected while vacationing in Maldives. Considering his movements over the 14 days prior to testing positive, NEOC had noted that Fellaini could have become infected on March 6.
Two Maldivians who came into contact with Fellaini were also placed at the Velidhoo Quarantine Facility under suspicion of carrying the virus.
Maldives now has 13 confirmed and eight active cases of COVID-19. The country recorded its first two recoveries on March 20, and the third on March 21. Two more recoveries were reported on Monday.
No Maldivians have tested positive for the virus as of yet. So far, only tourists and resort employees have confirmed infections with no local transmissions.
The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected more than 345,200 and claimed over 14,900 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 99,500 have recovered.
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