Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) disclosed on Monday that a total of five military personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 till date.
Speaking at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC)'s press briefing held in the afternoon, Colonel Hussain Ali assured that all the officers linked to the five aforementioned cases have been placed under quarantine.
However, the number of quarantined military personnel were kept confidential for security reasons.
"After completing the 14-day quarantine period they will return back to duty again", he said, referring to the officers in quarantine.
The Colonel pointed out that officers were aware of the risks when joining the frontlines of the response to this pandemic, adding that MNDF was fully prepared for this scenario.
Noting that MNDF has devised a force protection plan in addition to following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)s, Colonel Hussain Ali assured that safety measures were being taken by all frontline military personnel.
Moreover, Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed added that approximately 600 officers working at the frontlines have not returned home since the lockdown to reduce the risk of exposure to their families.
Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the military (MAV069) on April 21. The agency had confirmed that 41 contacts were identified for this case.
Maldives has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases since its first confirmed case in the capital city of Male' on April 15 involving a local woman that sought assistance from a flu clinic in Malé after developing symptoms.
There are currently 226 positive, 209 active and two probable cases of COVID-19 in Maldives, with a total of 17 recoveries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 3 million people and claimed over 207,265 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 883,238 people have recovered.
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