Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) in the Maldives confirmed 27 new cases on Tuesday in Kandima, a resort island located in Dh Atoll in the Maldives taking the total number of active cases 46 on the island, reported Sun news. 

On Friday night, an employee of a tourist resort on the island fell ill and was admitted to Dh. Atoll hospital. The person died on the same night and his test result came positive for COVID-19. This led the authority to launch mass testing on the island to detect further active cases.

A total of 127 samples taken from Kandima island and, of them, 27 came positive.

As the Maldives opened for tourism, the government has been taking extreme precautions and stringent health measures to keep its tourists’ islands free from the COVID-19 spread. Introducing a slew of measures to boost tourists’ arrival, the government in the Maldives is also aware of the potential challenges that could be posed by COVID-19. 

Prior to the opening of the tourism industry, the government ramped up its health infrastructure, offered various short-term health insurance schemes for tourists traveling to the nation. 

For the Maldives, keeping its resort islands free from the virus is necessary for the economic revival of the nation, as the majority of tourism revenues come from them. The Maldives’ economy shrank by 50% after the COVID-19 lockdown, mostly because of the closure of the tourism industry.