Over 350 Italians have been evacuated from the Maldives.
During a press conference held Friday, government spokesperson on COVID-19 related matters, Mabrooz Azeez said the situation in the Maldives was assessed, and the Italian government had sent a special flight to evacuate their citizens from the Maldives. While 358 Italians departed on the flight, this includes tourists on Island Safari and crew of Italian nationality.
Two cases of COVID-19 were previously confirmed from Island Safari after which the vessel was placed on quarantine. The government Friday confirmed that two Italians who had come in contact with the confirmed cases, and had completed a 14-day quarantine were tested prior to their departure as they were 'high-risk' individuals. Their results came back positive after they had already left the Maldives.
The Aeroflot aircraft on which they were traveling has now been quarantined in Russia after Italian and Russian authorities were informed of the development. The aircraft was transiting in Russia en route to Italy.
16 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Maldives thus far.
