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COVID-19: 3 Sri Lankans repatriated from Maldives test positive

Ahmed Aiham
31 May 2020, MVT 23:10
Sri Lankan Airport Officials, wearing facemasks, monitor screens of a thermal scanner to check body temperature of arriving passengers, at Bandaranaike International airport in Katunayake on January 24, 2020, following a virus outbreak in China. - The SARS-like virus has killed at least 26 in China, as concerns mount about a wider outbreak. PHOTO: LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP
Ahmed Aiham
31 May 2020, MVT 23:10

The Sri Lankan government on Sunday revealed that three Sri Lankan nationals that were repatriated from Maldives tested positive for COVID-19.

In reference to the country's Gazette, Sri Lankan media outlets reported that a total of 62 returnees from Maldives, Qatar and Kuwait were among those that tested positive for the virus on Saturday.

At present, Sri Lanka records 1,620 cases of COVID-19 from which 801 have recovered. The country also records 10 fatalities.

As part of various bilateral repatriation efforts, nearly 3,000 expatriates have returned to their country.

The COVID-19 outbreak in capital city Malé has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases following the first confirmed local transmission on April 15. The outbreak disproportionately affected the expatriate population, the majority of whom live in highly congested quarters where it is impossible to reduce contact or exercise social distancing.

Maldives presently records 1,672 confirmed and 1,259 active cases of COVID-19, with five fatalities and 406 recoveries.

WHO has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 6.2 million people and claimed over 372,340 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, 3 million people have recovered.

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