Participant in Gender Ministry meeting tests positive for coronavirus

A person who attended a stakeholder consultation meeting hosted by the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services on Thursday has tested positive for the new coronavirus.

 Deputy Gender Minister Zifleena Hassan told Sun on Monday that the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has informed the Gender Ministry that a participant of Thursday’s meeting has tested positive, and has asked for its assistance in informing other participants.

The stakeholder consultation meeting was held in preparation of a nationwide campaign to combat sexual violence against women and children.

Zifleena told Sun that the participants of the meeting had worn masks and maintained social distancing as instructed by HPA.

“HPA’s guidelines were followed. Even when engaged in group tasks, only those in charge of writing were at the tables. Others maintained distance. The groups were composed of no more than six people,” she said.

Zifleena said that HPA has called some of the participants of the meeting and has informed them that they are at low risk of exposure to the virus.

Thursday’s meeting was also attended by Gender Minister Aishath Mohamed Didi.

The beginning of July has seen further relaxation of coronavirus restrictions; mosques in the greater Male’ region have been reopened for congregational prayers for the first time in over three months, cafes and restaurants have been allowed to reopen for dine-in services, and government offices and courthouses have officially reopened.

The relaxation of the restrictions has been marked by an increase in daily infections.

2,731 people have tested positive for the new coronavirus in Maldives, including 67 who tested positive last Sunday. 2,284 people have recovered, while 13 have died from complications.