Health Emergency Operation Center HEOC spokesperson Dr. Fathimath Nazla Rafeeq says the total number of COVID-19 cases confirmed from Kandima resort has now reached 60.
Speaking at the latest HEOC press briefing, Dr. Nazla said that the new positive cases include those currently under quarantine at the resort and that these cases related to previous positive cases reported from the resort.
Dr. Nazla said that currently there are 44 contacts on the resort.
Up until the 5th of this month, authorities had confirmed only 50 cases from the resort island.
The resort came into the spotlight after a 60-year-old local man who worked at the resort passed away from COVID-19 while under treatment at Dhaalu Atoll hospital. His death prompted authorities to take samples from the resort and to identify the extent of the infection on the resort.
The resort had been under Health Protection Agency HPA monitoring with unauthorized entry and exit banned from the resort. Tourists who have made bookings at the resort are seeking to change their travel plans while those on the island can only leave if they had not been in contact with any of the positive cases and once, they present a negative COVID-19 PCR test.
HEOC had earlier said that it had formally requested the police to investigate the spread of the infection on the island with whispers of neglect surrounding the resort management.
