83-yo local succumbs to Covid-19 complications

An 83-year-old local has succumbed to complications of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in the Maldives.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed that the woman was admitted at Hulhumalé Medical Facility for treatment before doctors pronounced her dead at 6:37am on Monday.

This has been declared the 159th Covid-19 fatality in the Maldives.

Of the 159 deaths linked of coronavirus reported in the country so far, the pandemic has claimed 110 lives in the Maldives during 2021 alone, 86 of which have been reported thus far in May. This is the highest number of deaths to have been reported in a month since the pandemic began.

HPA continues to report alarming numbers of Covid-19 fatalities across the Maldives, as the country struggles to control a devastating surge in daily infections being reported over recent weeks. Maldives is currently experiencing a devastating Covid-19 peak like never observed before, with daily infections soaring above 1,000 over the past weeks.

Authorities earlier stressed that Covid-19 fatalities had doubled in count since January 2021. As such, while four deaths were observed in January, the number increased to 10 during February. Six Covid-19 fatalities were reported during March as well as April.

With an alarming spike in case count, hospitalizations are also increasing in comparison to the past month. There has been increasing concern over hospital beds filling up across the Maldives capital, hit hardest by the pandemic.

Healthcare authorities have stressed that 65 percent of patients currently being treated at Dharumavantha Hospital are under 40 years of age and although elderly persons were observed to have been most affected by the virus earlier, circumstances have changed with the new and more infective wave of the pandemic Maldives is currently experiencing. Latest statistics also indicate that 211 children below 18 years of age are receiving Covid-19 treatment. Most of the patients being treated for Covid-19 in the ICU are observed to not have received a single dose of Covid-19 vaccination.

Doctors recently discovered a new pattern between the detection of Covid-19 symptoms and being brought into intensive care. As such, patients in ICU are observed to deteriorate within 10 days and more patients are being put on ventilator support as days pass battling the devastating Covid-19 surge.

Authorities have imposed strict measures in the capital region as well as in outlying atolls in light of the spiking cases. As such authorities strengthened measures to be effective from May 26 onwards. The curfew period has been extended from 4pm to 8am and individuals will only be allowed to go out outside of the curfew hours, under a special permit.