COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives  The COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to the Maldives on 7 March 2020 from an Italian tourist who had returned to Italy after spending holidays in Kuredu Resort & Spa. The Health Protection Agency of the Maldives confirmed two cases in the Maldives, both employees of the resort. Following this, the hotel was locked down with several tourists stranded on the island. As of 11 March, the islands resorts of Kuredu, Vilamendhoo, Batalaa and Kuramathi island have also been placed under temporary quarantine. Schools have been closed as a precaution. Cases in the country spiked after a cluster emerged in the country's migrant worker community's dense living quarters, mostly composed of Bangladeshi, Indian and Nepali migrant workers in May 2020. 572 foreigners have tested positive in the country with 416 Bangladeshi migrant workers have tested positive for the virus. The Maldivian government plans to relocate 3,000 Bangladeshi foreign workers to other islands in order to enable social distancing. On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. On 7 March, the Maldives confirmed its first two cases of COVID-19, who are foreign employees at Kuredhoo Island Resort. Both are believed to have caught the infection from an Italian tourist who has been tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Italy. On 9 March, the Maldives confirmed two other COVID-19 cases have been tested positive. They are both tourists. As of 29 March, there are 17 positive cases of COVID-19. The Maldives declared a public health emergency over COVID-19 on 12 March. As of 19 March 2020, the Maldives has 13 positive cases and the lockdown status on Vilamendhoo and Bathala has been lifted. On 27 March, the government announced the first confirmed case of a Maldivian citizen with COVID-19, and that person is from the UK.