Male: The Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed has confirmed that 23 police officials from the Maldives Police Service have tested positive for COVID-19.

In a tweet, Hameed said that the 23 officers, working on the frontlines of Maldives' response, were now placed in isolation.

Commissioner Hameed said that stringent measures were in place to contain the virus' spread among police personnel, and to ensure that police services to the community continue uninterrupted.

“Spoke to all 23 of our officers & staff who are #COVID19 positive and put under isolation. It was fulfilling to know they all are doing well. Additionally, we have about 293 officers & staff under managed isolation to mitigate spread from potential exposure to positive cases.”

On May 13, Chief of Maldives National Defence Force, Major General Abdulla Shamaal had confirmed that more than 40 officers were infected with the virus.

Since the lockdown, Maldives Police have been active in safeguarding and protecting the privacy and security of quarantined households within the city. They are also working to ensure that no one breaks the lockdown status of the island city and for this have implemented protocol as laid out by the country's Health Protection Agency.

Collectively, MNDF and Police are collaborating with nearly every aspect of Maldives’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular following the first detection of community spread within the capital city Male’, as well as after it was noted to have spread across to different atolls.