COVID-19 pandemic in Maldives | |
---|---|
Disease | COVID-19 |
Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
Location | Maldives |
First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China, via Italy |
Index case | Kuredu Resort & Spa |
Arrival date | 7 March 2020 (4 years, 5 months, 1 week and 5 days) |
Confirmed cases | 186,694[1] |
Recovered | 186,371 (updated 23 July 2023) [2] |
Deaths | 316[1] |
Fatality rate | 0.17% |
Government website | |
covid19 |
The COVID-19 pandemic in Maldives was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Maldives on 7 March 2020 from a 69-year-old Italian tourist who had returned to Italy after spending holidays in Kuredu Resort & Spa.[3][4] The Health Protection Agency of Maldives confirmed two cases in Maldives, both employees of the resort. Following this, the hotel was locked down with several tourists stranded on the island.[5] As of 11 March, the resorts of Kuredu, Vilamendhoo, Batalaa, and Kuramathi island were also placed under temporary quarantine. Schools were closed as a precaution.[6]
Cases in the country spiked after a cluster emerged in the country's migrant worker community's dense living quarters, mostly composed of Bangladeshi, Indian, and Nepali migrant workers in May 2020.[7] 2,420 foreigners have tested positive in the country with 1,857 Bangladeshi migrant workers have tested positive for the virus.[8] The Maldivian government plans to relocate 3,000 Bangladeshi foreign workers to other islands in order to enable social distancing.[9]
As of May 24, 2021, Maldives had the world's fastest-growing COVID-19 epidemic, with the highest number of infections per million people over the prior 7 and 14 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.