Crew member of Ihavandhoo boat tests positive for coronavirus

A crew member of a boat – 242 – which travels between H. A. Ihavandhoo and Male’ City has tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Ihavandhoo Council identified the crew member who tested positive as a male cashier, whose results were confirmed by Health Protection Agency on Friday night.

Ihavandhoo Council said Boat 242 traveled to Ihavandhoo on Tuesday, and that the man who tested positive had presented with symptoms consistent with the new coronavirus when he arrived at the island.

The council said that health officials are conducting contact tracing to identify others who may have been exposed to the virus.

With the case, HPA now has Ihavandhoo under active surveillance, and has restricted travel in and out of the island.

Ihavandhoo Council said that the 242 Boat has a large crew, and that it therefore expects the confirmed case to be the beginning of a large cluster.

The case in Ihavandhoo is similar to the Savaari Boat case in H. Kelaa. The Saavaari Boat case was identified last week after the captain of the boat tested positive for the new coronavirus after travelling from Male’ City. Nine more people; eight crew members and one passenger have also tested positive. Passengers on the boat travelled to H. A. Kelaa, H. A. Dhidhdhoo, H. A. Vashafaru and H. Dh. Nolhivaranfaru. All four islands are under active surveillance.

Several people who have travelled to residential islands from Male’ – which is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases with the relaxation of the lockdown – have tested positive in recent days. New cases were found in K. Maafushi, V. Fulidhoo and Lh. Hinnavaru last Friday.

Maldives has 3,793 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 74 new cases recorded on Friday. 2,607 patients have since recovered, while 16 have died from complications.