Maldives reports 86 new Covid-19 cases, 107 recoveries
53 cases were confirmed from atolls, 29 from the capital and four from resorts
Samples being collected for Covid-19 testing
Maldives reported 86 new Covid-19 cases and 107 recoveries by sundown on Thursday.
The new infections were confirmed through 4,172 samples tested for the virus between 6pm Wednesday and 6pm Thursday, according to the latest statistics publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
HPA revealed that 53 of the new infections were detected from residential islands outside of the capital region, where 29 new cases were confirmed.
The remaining four cases were discovered from operational resorts.
Maldives currently has 1,653 active coronavirus cases, which is a slight decline from the previous day’s 1,674 cases.
Further, the country’s total case tally currently sits at 84,103. Maldives confirmed its first few coronavirus cases on 7 March 2020.
The additional recoveries confirmed have pushed the island nation’s total recovery count to 82,208.
With two more Covid-19 patients released from hospitals over the past 24 hours, hospital admissions have dropped to 18.
Maldives reported its first Covid-19 fatality in April 2020. Since then, the death toll has been pushed to 230. The latest fatality was confirmed early Friday, when a 46-year-old Maldivian woman being treated at Hulhumalé Medical Facility (HMF) succumbed to the virus.
The geographical advantage of being comprised of a scatter of islands initially enabled Maldives to keep tabs on the spread of coronavirus when the first few cases surfaced. Things spiraled out of control after a community transmission was detected in the congested capital on 15 April 2020 to which authorities responded by imposing an immediate lockdown.
Months later, authorities began easing the lockdown in phases, with cases going on a downward spiral. Things seemed to be in control until the new year rolled around and cases began spiraling once more. Since April 2020, authorities have been repeating a cycle of curfews, lockdowns, partial lockdowns and other restrictive measures in their successful efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
Maldives was faced by a fourth and more infectious coronavirus wave in early May, with cases rising to alarming levels at 1,000 on a daily basis. With the implementation of stricter measures, cases began declining once again, and authorities introduced further eases to restrictions in early July for the extensive government holidays.
Eases have been doubling with those that have completed both doses of Covid-19 vaccine allowed to travel domestically without the need to quarantine, with a negative PCR test result. HPA has since publicized a list of islands where the criteria for Covid-19 vaccination coverage conditions have been met.
The country has been in a state of public health emergency for over a year, since 12 March 2020. It was extended an 18th time to expire on October 1.
