55 out of 80 new Covid-19 cases from atolls

55 out of the 80 new Covid-19 infections confirmed nationwide, were detected from outlying atolls.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) tested a total of 3,761 samples for the virus between 6pm Tuesday and 6pm Wednesday, according to the latest statistics publicized on Wednesday night.

The 80 new coronavirus infections included 55 detected from residential islands outside the congested capital of the Maldives, Malé City where 20 new infections were detected. The remaining five infections were confirmed from operational resorts.

By sundown on Wednesday, Maldives active coronavirus cases had dropped further to 1,333 from the previous day’s 1,379.

HPA revealed that the total number of recoveries observed nationwide has been pushed to 83,700 with the additional 126 recoveries reported in the reporting period.

With this development, Maldives Covid-19 case tally currently sits at 85,278.

Two Covid-19 patients were released from the hospital in the reporting period, meaning there are 17 patients hospitalized for treatment, currently.

Maldives reported its first Covid-19 fatality in April 2020. Since then, the death toll has been pushed to 232. The latest fatality was confirmed on Monday when a 54-year-old Maldivian man being treated at Hulhumalé Medical Facility succumbed to complications 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 continues to practice caution as the pandemic is far from being controlled, despite declining numbers in recent months. For over a month, the country has been free from further restrictions in the face of the pandemic, however, the authorities continue to remind the public to be vigilant as the country heads down the road to full recovery from the impacts of Covid-19. Although life is far from reaching normal yet, the government's resilience to vaccinate the entire nation has revived hopes of eases from further burden, in the new normal.

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.

The country has been in a state of public health emergency for over a year, since 12 March 2020. It was extended a 19th time to expire on October 31.