Minister: 37 denied entry after screening for Covid-19

Health Minister Abdulla Ameen has informed the parliament that a total of 37 people were turned back at the Velana International Airport after screening led to suspicions of the Covid-19 disease.

The minister gave a detailed explanation to MPs in today’s parliamentary session, of the steps taken to prevent the spread of the disease in the country which has so far had four positive cases.

He informed that a total of 204,649 people were screened for the disease in points of entry into the country from February 1. Out of the figure, 617 were further questioned.

“From February 1, 37 people were turned back and not allowed to enter the country.” said the Minister.

Awareness programs for 81,000 people were conducted, and a total of 2,233 people had contacted via the call center to obtain information regarding the disease. The minister hailed the efforts and steps taken beforehand as the reason for the prevention of the disease in the country until now. Cases in the Maldives were only identified after several other countries in the region.

The minister also stated that the priority was the safety and health of Maldivians after which the decisions were made regarding the economic impact and short-term challenges were made.

These decisions were made with the assistance and advice of health sector experts and senior members of the tourism sector.

Currently, Maldives has ten people in quarantine while only four cases have been spotted in the country that is a global hotspot for tourism.