COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives
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The COVID-19 pandemic in Maldives was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
on 7 March 2020 from a 69-year-old Italian tourist who had returned to Italy after spending holidays in Kuredu Resort & Spa. 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. As of 11 March, the resorts of Kuredu,
Vilamendhoo Vilamendhoo, formerly one of the uninhabited islands of Alif Dhaal Atoll (South Ari Atoll) of the Maldives, has been developed into a 194-room 4 star plus resort, called Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa, managed by CCR (Crown & Champa Resorts). So ...
, Batalaa, and
Kuramathi Kuramathi at long is the largest of six islands that belong to the small natural atoll, located a few miles off NE Ari Atoll, known as Karaa, Thoddoo, or Thoddoo Atoll, which administratively belongs to Alif Alif Atoll. Geography Geographica ...
island were also placed under temporary quarantine. Schools were closed as a precaution. Cases in the country spiked after a cluster emerged in the country's
migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant worker ...
community's dense living quarters, mostly composed of Bangladeshi, Indian, and Nepali migrant workers in May 2020. 2,420 foreigners have tested positive in the country with 1,857 Bangladeshi migrant workers have tested positive for the virus. The Maldivian government plans to relocate 3,000 Bangladeshi foreign workers to other islands in order to enable social distancing. 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.


Background

On 12 January 2020, the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. The
case fatality ratio In epidemiology, case fatality rate (CFR) – or sometimes more accurately case-fatality risk – is the proportion of people diagnosed with a certain disease, who end up dying of it. Unlike a disease's mortality rate, the CFR does not take int ...
for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the
transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...
has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.


Timeline


March 2020

* On 7 March 2020, the Maldives confirmed its first two cases of COVID-19, who were foreign employees at Kuredhoo Island Resort. Both were believed to have caught the infection from an Italian tourist who tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Italy. On 9 March, the Maldives confirmed two other COVID-19 cases tested positive. They too were tourists. * The Maldives declared a public health emergency over COVID-19 on 12 March. As of 19 March, the Maldives had 13 positive cases and the lockdown status on Vilamendhoo and Bathala had been lifted. * On 27 March, the government announced the first confirmed case of a Maldivian citizen with COVID-19, and that person is from the UK. This brought the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 16; the other 15 were foreign citizens. As of 29 March, there were 17 positive cases of COVID-19.


April to June 2020

* On 30 April, Maldivian authorities reported their first death of coronavirus in the country, with the first victim being an 83-year-old woman that died en route to the hospital. The total number of confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak stood at 468. * On May 15, 2020, more than 1,000 cases tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives. By the end of May there had been 1,773 confirmed cases and five deaths. * The total number of confirmed cases increased to 2,361 and the death toll rose to eight in June.


July to September 2020

* The total number of confirmed cases increased to 3,793 and the death toll rose to 16 in July. * On 25 August, former Maldivian President
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (; dv, މައުމޫން ޢަބްދުލް ޤައްޔޫމް; born 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician and an Islamic scholar who served as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Trans ...
tested positive for COVID-19. The number of confirmed cases more than doubled to 7667 and the death toll increased to 28 in August. * In September, the number of confirmed cases increased to 10,291 and the death toll rose to 34.


October to December 2020

* In October, the number of confirmed cases increased to 11,659 and the death toll rose to 38. * In November, the number of confirmed cases increased to 13,011 and the death toll rose to 46. * In December, the number of confirmed cases increased to 13,757 and the death toll rose to 48.


January to December 2021

* Mass vaccination commenced on 1 February, initially with 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine donated by India. An unidentified benefactor donated 5,000 doses of the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine while China undertook to donate 100,000 doses of the same vaccine. India donated 100,000 additional doses of Covishield on 20 February. Four weeks after the start of the vaccination campaign, 111,415 people had received their first dose. * On 2 February, Dr. Sheena Moosa of the Maldives Health Emergency Operations Center reported that the time-varying reproduction number ''R t'' had risen to 5. * On 23 February, the
United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
(UNICEF) announced that it had shipped 100,000 syringes to be used for both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. * As of 24 May 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. Doctors warned that increasing demand for COVID-19 care could hinder their ability to handle other health emergencies in the Maldives. * At the start of July 191,441 persons had received two vaccine doses and 317,214 persons had received their first inoculation, rising to 264,913 and 321,764 persons by the end of the month. * From 15 August, the vaccination campaign was extended to children between 12 and 17 years old. By the end of the month 302,182 persons had received two vaccine doses and 383,620 had received their first inoculation. * The first case in the Maldives of the
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
was confirmed on 5 December. * The number of confirmed cases increased to 15,841 in January, 19,793 in February, 24,079 in March, 29,835 in April, 64,396 in May, 73,798 in June (of which 3,602 active cases), 77,432 in July (of which 2,601 active cases), 81,112 in August (of which 1,730 active cases), 84,809 in September (of which 1,591 active cases), 87,784 in October (of which 1,792 active cases), 91,650 in November (of which 1,613 active cases), and 95,700 in December (including 2,298 active cases). * The death toll rose to 52 in January, 62 in February, 67 in March, 73 in April, 161 in May, 212 in June, 221 in July, 226 in August, 231 in September, 243 in October, 250 in November, and 262 in December.


January to December 2022

* On 22 January, President
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ( dv, އިބްރާހީމް މުޙައްމަދު ޞާލިޙް; ar, إبراهيم محمد صالح; born 1 March 1962), better known as Ibu (އިބޫ), is a Maldivian politician and the president of the Maldives since 17 ...
announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. * The number of confirmed cases increased to 138,880 in January (of which 17,770 active cases), 170,192 in February (of which 15,076 active cases), 177,658 in March (of which 13,008 active cases), 179,414 in April (of which 15,186 active cases), 179,753 in May (of which 15,767 active cases), 182,720 in June, 184,485 in July, 184,924 in August, 185,082 in September, 185,364 in October, 185,618 in November, and 185,693 in December. * The death toll rose to 276 in January, 297 in February, 298 in March, 299 in May, 305 in June, 307 in July, 308 in August, and 311 in November. * The public health emergency of 12 March 2020 was gradually removed in 2022, starting on 13 March.


January to December 2023

* The number of confirmed cases increased to 185,715 in January, 185,732 in February, 185,810 in March, 186,435 in April, 186,672 in May, 186,687 in June. * The death toll rose to 313 in April and to 316 in May.


Statistics


Charts


Confirmed new cases per day


Confirmed deaths per day


Restrictions on travel to the Maldives

The government of the Maldives and the Tourism Ministry of the Maldives with the guidance of the Health Protection Agency of the Maldives (HPA) placed a temporary travel restriction for the following countries to control new cases. No passengers originating from, transiting to, or with a travel history of said country/province is to be permitted into the Maldives. Maldivians and spouses of Maldivians who are foreign nationals will be allowed in but may be subject to
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
measures.


Quarantine facilities

The Maldivian government turned the resort island of Villivaru in the
Kaafu Atoll Kaafu Atoll is the code name given to an administrative division in the Republic of Maldives which consists of the geographical atolls of Kaashidhoo Island, Gaafaru, North Malé Atoll and South Malé Atoll. As the two Malé Atolls are the main is ...
into a quarantine facility, described as "the world's first coronavirus resort", where patients would enjoy a luxurious stay and free medical care. According to Minister of Tourism
Ali Waheed Ali Waheed (also known as Balak) (Dhivehi ޢަލީ ވަޙީދު) was the Tourism Minister of Maldives, a Maldivian politician, former MP (Peoples' Majlis) and the Chairperson of Jumhoory Party. He was also the Chairman of New Radiant Sports C ...
, the Maldives had 2,288 beds available for quarantine as of late March 2020.


Impact

The Maldives' economy is dependent on tourism, which dropped severely due to travel restrictions amid the pandemic. Experts warned of an economic contraction and possible difficulties paying back foreign debt, especially to China and India. Migrant workers in Maldives have been reported to face harsh treatment from their employers, such as wage theft, unsafe living and working conditions, passport confiscation, and deceptive recruitment practices. According to an investigation by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, these migrant labor abuses have worsened due to
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
that resulted in job loss and forced labor without any pay.


Details of the initial confirmed cases


See also

*
Aasandha Aasandha (Dhivehi: އާސަންދަ) is the universal health insurance scheme of the Maldives. It is a single-payer healthcare system financed solely by the Government of Maldives. The Scheme is designed to provide medical care including hospitaliza ...
* COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory * COVID-19 pandemic death rates by country * COVID-19 pandemic in Asia * Deployment of COVID-19 vaccines * Health in Maldives *
National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have been varied, and have included containment measures such as lockdowns, quarantines, and curfews. As of , COVID-19 pandemic cases, cases of COVID-19 have been reported, resulting in COVID-1 ...


References


External links

* * * * * {{Portal bar, COVID-19, Medicine, Viruses Coronavirus pandemic Coronavirus pandemic
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
Disease outbreaks in the Maldives