Court order issued against 2 following refusal to get tested for coronavirus

The Civil Court, on Wednesday, issued orders to conduct coronavirus tests on two people who refused to voluntary provide their samples.

The Civil Court, in a statement on Thursday morning, said it issued two court orders; ordering the two people who refused to get tested to provide their samples, and ordering relevant authorities and the police to take samples from the two people in accordance with the orders of the Director General of Public Health.

The Civil Court issued similar orders in May, when parents refused to have their infant child tested for the new coronavirus.

At least four more people have also been issued similar court orders.

Meanwhile, the Civil Court has also issued orders to force at least three people to quarantine facilities following refusal. One of the orders was issued against an Austrian in late April, and orders were issued against two Maldivians in early May.

Maldives identified its first coronavirus case on March 7, and declared a state of public health emergency over the pandemic four days later on March 11.

While coronavirus cases had initially been restricted to resorts and safaris, and later quarantine facilities holding inbound travelers, Male’ City identified its first coronavirus case on April 15, prompting a city-wide lockdown and a nationwide ban on nonessential travel.

The populous capital quickly emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Maldives, contributing to over 90 percent of total cases.

Maldives has 2,261 confirmed coronavirus cases, out of which 1,839 patients have recovered and eight have died from complications.

35 percent of the 2,261coronavirus cases in the country are Maldivians, while the remaining 65 percent are foreign nationals. 1,176 people – making for 52 percent of total coronavirus cases – are Bangladeshis. The rest of the coronavirus cases include 795 Maldivians, 211 Indians, 43 Nepalese, and 13 Sri Lankans and 11 Italians.

Maldives began relaxing its lockdown following a drop in daily infections in the end of May.

The recovery rate stands at 81 percent, and the active cases have dropped to 412.