Doctor, two nurses in self-isolation in Addu

A doctor and two nurses who initially treated a patient who showed symptoms consistent with COVID-19 at the Equatorial Hospital in Addu City have been ordered to self-isolation at home as a precautionary measure.

At a press conference at the National Emergency Operations Center on Sunday afternoon, government spokesperson Mabrouq Azeez said the patient who went to the Equatorial Hospital was a Maldivian national who travelled back to Maldives from Cochin, India.

He said that the patient showed symptoms consistent with COVID-19, and had gone to the Emergency Room of the hospital.

The doctor and two nurses who had initially attended to the patient had not been wearing protective gear, he said.

“Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the two nurses and the doctor are now in home quarantine,” said Mabrouq.

Meanwhile, the patient in question is being tested for the virus and is also in isolation.

The doctor and nurses have been instructed to remain in self-isolation at home until the authorities receive the test results of the patient, said Mabrouq.

17 have tested positive for the virus in Maldives; including the two Maldivian nationals who returned from the UK, and two Italian nationals whose test results were received after they departed from Maldives, on March 27. The rest are all foreign nationals either vacationing or working at resorts or safaris.

11 have since recovered, and the number of active cases is now 4.