Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen has revealed the administration has allocated Funadhoo to isolate and treat patients found positive to coronavirus.
Speaking in a press briefing, the health minister stated the administration has made quarantine arrangements if the virus is found in Maldives. He said efforts are underway to train people to treat patients found positive to coronavirus.
The health ministry has installed thermal cameras in airports and seaports to screen passengers for coronavirus. The ministry stated it is necessary to take precautionary measures, although the virus reaching Maldives is unlikely.
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause a variety of ailments, among them the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Most known coronaviruses cause relatively mild cold-like symptoms, but their ability to jump between humans and animals makes them hard to contain.
Chinese health officials have confirmed the new virus can spread between people, but do not believe it to be as serious as SARS or MERS. According to data released on a daily basis by the country's top health authority, cases of infection by the virus rose to 2,744 in China, with over 80 dead, as of late Sunday.