COVID-19 pandemic in Maldives
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. 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, Batalaa, and Kuramathi island were also placed under temporary quarantine. Schools were closed as a precaution.
| 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, 1 month, 1 week and 5 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 186,694 |
| Recovered | 186,371 (updated 23 July 2023) |
Deaths | 316 |
| Fatality rate | 0.17% |
| Government website | |
| covid19 | |
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. 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.