Health Protection Agency (HPA) on Thursday, enacted monitoring measures on Bodufulhadhoo, Alif Alif Atoll and the liveaboard 'Equator', over suspected cases of COVID-19.

Speaking at the nation-wide broadcasted press conference held at the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), Mabrouq Abdul Azeez, Undersecretary of Communications at the President's Office, said that a foreign individual staying at the 'Holiday Village' guesthouse in Bodufulhadhoo was placed in home-isolation after developing symptoms.

Moreover, Mabrouq added that a Maldivian was being tested aboard the 'Equator'.

HPA has sent a team of healthcare workers to both locations.

Maldives announced a state of public health emergency on March 12, under which the government has implemented several measures. This includes travel restrictions to and from resorts, and temporary suspension of tourist check-ins in guesthouses and hotels around the country.

Currently there are 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Maldives, including a tourist couple on a liveaboard, two cases from Anantara Dhigu, and two foreign citizens from Sandies Bathala and Kuramathi Maldives each, in addition to the five from Kuredu. The patients include nine Italians, a Turk, a German, a South African and an English national.

The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected more than 259,000 and claimed over 10,540 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 89,922 have recovered.