Total number of COVID-19 cases in the Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Hoadehdhoo has risen to 38 after two more people tested positive.

The first people who were confirmed positive on the island were four people of the same family in home quarantine together. They were confirmed positive when they were tested before being released.

However, last Friday saw two more people that had no contact with the initial patients were tested positive as well. And the following day, 19 more from the island were confirmed positive and the numbers continued to grow.

Health Protection Agency (HPA) today said that the two people who tested positive today are two 18-year-olds; both contacts of people who tested positive in the past.

With these two cases, the total number of cases on the island has risen to 38, the neighboring island of Madaveli, connected to Hoadehdhoo via causeway, has been put on high alert while authorities work to find how the disease traveled to the island.