COVID-19 cases in Kandima Maldives rise to 50

COVID-19 cases in Kandima Maldives, a resort island located in Dh. Atoll, have risen to 50.

In a press conference on Thursday night, Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) spokesperson Dr. Nazla Rafeeq said that 20 COVID-19 cases were discovered from Kandima by November 1.

The 20 initial cases were all resort employees.

Nazla said that 30 additional cases were discovered on November 3, including employees, and one guest who was tested prior to departure.

With the additional cases, COVID-19 cases in Kandima have now risen to 50, she said.

The outbreak in Kandima was discovered after a 60-year-old Maldivian male, one of the resort’s employees, fell ill and was transported to Dh. Atoll Hospital for emergency medical treatment on October 30. He passed away the same night, and tests conducted on him came back positive for COVID-19.

Kandima has been under monitoring by Health Protection Agency (HPA) since November, with restrictions on travel in and out of the island.

Nazla said that tourists are not allowed to travel out of the island unless they are confirmed to have not had any contact with a positive case, and undergo testing.

The death of the employee from Kandima had marked Maldives’ 38th COVID-19 related death.