In response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the government on Tuesday converted the quarantine facility established at the airport transit hotel 'Hulhule' Island Hotel' (HIH) to an isolation facility.
Speaking at a nation-wide broadcasted press conference, President's Office's Communications Undersecretary Mabrouq Abdul Azeez said that 137 individuals are currently under lockdown at the facility and would be transferred to other facilities.
Moreover, Mabrouq stated that persons with pre-existing health conditions, the elderly, women and children are prioritized to be housed in facilities near the greater Male' region.
Established 18 years ago, the 5-star HIH has a capacity of 136 rooms. According to authorities, HIH will be utilized by inbound tourists that are to be isolated before departing to their holiday destination and for Maldivians arriving from restricted countries for monitoring purposes.
Prompted by the imported COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the government announced a state of public health emergency on March 12, under which the government has temporarily closed down all government offices and educational institutions, urging the public to practice good hygiene, social distancing and stay home unless absolutely necessary.
Institutions and businesses around the country and around the world are either closing shop or moving to work in the digital space wherever possible, as a move to 'flatten the curve' or reduce risk of infection and spread of the virus.
Maldives currently counts 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 10 are active cases. The country reported its first two recoveries on Friday, and a third on Saturday.
As of yet, no Maldivians have tested positive for the virus. Presently only tourists and resort employees have confirmed infections and there is no record of local transmissions.
The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected more than 381,400 and claimed over 16,500 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 102,400 have recovered.
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