The Government says the country’s top private hospital ADK has begun testing for Covid-19 as authorities work to strengthen the country’s testing capacity.

Speaking to the media, NEOC spokesperson Mohamed Mabrook Azeez confirmed that the machinery installed in ADK could run 500 test samples per day.

He also said efforts to install an additional extraction machine at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital IGMH lab is underway and that this would further strengthen the lab’s testing capacity with more than 600 samples tested each day.

NEOC Spokesperson said the lab operated by Maldives Police Services continues to test Covid-19 samples and that the lab can run 145 tests each day.

Mabrook said the government was working to bring in two additional machines to further bolster the testing capabilities and that these machines would be installed in the labs in IGMH and Tree Top Hospital in Hulhumale.

Authorities have confirmed that 1216 people have now tested positive for Covid-19 with 4 people dying of the illness in the country.

104 people have recovered from the highly contagious virus with the current restrictive measure expected to be relaxed in the coming weeks.