Govt. apologizes after child who hadn't tested positive is quarantined

The Maldivian government, on Saturday, issued a public apology for a mix-up which led to a child in H. A. Thakandhoo who hadn't tested positive for COVID-19 being mistaken for a child from the same family who had tested positive, leading to the prior being moved to a quarantine facility.

The government had announced three virus cases in Thakandhoo on Friday; two women and the son of one of the women. All three were moved to a quarantine facility.

At a National Emergency Operations Center press briefing tonight, spokesperson Mabrouq Azeez, in response to a question by Sun, said that the young boy had been quarantined due to a mix-up.

He said the government officials had spoken to the family regarding the mix-up, and was taking action to remedy the situation.

Mabrouq said that both children belonged to the same family, and that the only difference between their names was a single letter.

While the boy who was moved to a quarantine facility had tested negative, he was a close contact of his mother, and would therefore need to undergo additional testing, said Mabrouq.

“However, we mistakenly kept another child you had tested positive in the island. We are currently working on moving the child,” he said. “This is what happened. We sincerely apologize for this. Officials from HPA have spoken to the family.

The people who tested positive for COVID-19 from Thakandhoo were passengers on board the boat Kaaviya which had travelled from Male’ on April 15, prior to the lockdown on the Greater Male’ Region. While three have now tested positive, more of the boat’s passengers remain in self-isolation.