Nasheed: Likely virus will spread to all islands, despite geographical makeup

Parliament Speaker, former President Mohamed Nasheed, on Tuesday, said that given the speed at which COVID-19 continued to spread, it was highly likely the disease will spread to all Maldivian islands despite the geographical makeup of the country which allowed each island to be naturally isolated.

At the virtual parliamentary sitting on Tuesday morning, Nasheed said he understood the plight of the hundreds of residents from the atolls who had been left stranded in Male’ City due to the lockdown on the capital.

The government recently announced that some 5,000 people have requested the government for assistance to leave Male’ and return to their home islands.

It has suspended its program to allow people to leave Male’, and strengthened its policies in light of the continued rapid spread of COVID-19 in the capital, and the projections of an impending surge, so as to prevent the disease from spreading to islands which remain free of virus cases.

Referring to this, Nasheed said that while islands may be geographically separate, the risk of transmission remained for as long as the transport of cargo and select passenger continued.

I must say that it is very likely that this disease spreads to all Maldivian islands… While some may say that Maldivian islands lay apart, that they lay separate, Maldives remains a country because of the travel from Thuraakunu to Muli in Addu, because of the travel of people from one place to the other. Therefore something in one place always spreads to the other. This has always been the case, since ancient Maldives,” said Nasheed.

He said that it was therefore wise that all islands take preemptive action to prevent and contain a potential outbreak.

The government has asked that only those with compelling reasons apply to leave Male’, warning that now was not the time to travel to home islands simply to enjoy a vacation.

People who apply to leave Male’ need to undergo 14 days of quarantine in a designated facility before they will be allowed to travel to islands. The government is working on securing 500 more rooms in guesthouses in suburban Hulhumale’ to quarantine applicants.

897 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives, including people in some other residential islands outside of the capital.

31 have recovered, and three have died from complications.