11 on Qatar Airways flight placed under quarantine

Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Sunday, quarantined 11 people on the Qatar Airways flight which landed in Maldives on Sunday carrying a Maldivian national with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

The Maldivian national in question, who the government confirmed on Sunday night had transited in virus-hit Spain, had been removed from the plane and transferred to the Farukolhufushi Isolation Facility as soon as the plane had landed at Velana International Airport.

The person will remain at the isolation facility for a 14-day quarantine period for monitoring and testing.

HPA, through contact tracing, identified nine passengers, all foreign nationals, who had close contact with the Maldivian national with COVID-19 symptoms. All nine have been quarantined in their respective resorts.

Meanwhile, two crew members, also foreign nationals, have been transferred to the Vilivaru Quarantine Facility.

Spain is Europe’s second-most affected country in the COVID-19 pandemic, after Italy. 7,753 people have been infected and 288 have died. It has led to the Spanish government imposing a near-total nationwide lockdown, banning people from leaving home except to go to work, get medical care or buy food.

Maldives has imposed a ban on travel from Spain.

13 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives, all of whom are foreign nationals who were either working or vacationing in resorts. Of the 13 people, five were from Kuredu Island Resort, two from Island Safari-1, two from Sandies Bathala, two from Kuramathi Island Resort, and two from Anantara Dhigu.