Maldives confirmed 115 new Covid-19 cases and 110 additional recoveries by sundown on Tuesday.

Latest figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reveal that the new infections were confirmed through 3,541 samples tested for the virus between 6pm Monday and 6pm Tuesday.

As such, 85 out of the over 100 new cases were confirmed from residential islands outside of the Maldives congested capital Malé City, where 22 new cases were confirmed. The remaining eight cases were detected from operational resorts.

Tuesday’s new coronavirus cases have pushed the country’s total case count to 87,186, with active cases currently sitting at 1,553.

Maldives has observed a total of 85,378 recoveries so far.

Hospital admissions dropped to 20 in the reporting period, with two patients having been released from the hospital.

Maldives reported its first Covid-19 fatality in April 2020 and since then, the death toll has risen to 242. The latest victims were reported on October 26. Tuesday’s deaths included an 86-year-old woman and a 74-year-old male. Both of the victims, locals, were being treated at the Addu Covid Management Facility. 11 Covid-19 deaths have been confirmed so far in October.

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.