Maldives confirms 125 new Covid-19 cases; 93 from atolls

Maldives reported 125 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, of which 93 were confirmed from residential islands outside of the Maldives congested capital, Malé City.

According to the latest figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the new cases were confirmed through 3,701 samples tested for the virus between 6pm Wednesday and 6pm Thursday.

23 out of the 125 new Covid-19 cases confirmed on Thursday were detected from Maldives congested capital, Malé City. HPA also confirmed seven new cases from an operational resort.

Maldives Covid-19 case tally has risen to 92,754, with this development.

In the reporting period, active cases dropped to 1,861 from the previous day’s 1,876, with hospital admissions declining to 16 after three more patients were released from the hospital.

With the 140 additional recoveries reported on Thursday, the total number of recoveries confirmed nationwide has also risen to 90,625.

Maldives reported its first Covid-19 fatality in April 2020 and since then, the death toll has risen to 255. The latest victim was identified as a Maldivian man aged 79. Five Covid-19 fatalities have been reported so far in December.

Maldives confirmed the first case of the new, more transmissible variant of Covid-19, ‘Omicron’ on December 5.

HPA highlighted that the first case of the new variant was confirmed through genome sequencing of a tourist that arrived in the Maldives from South Africa on November 21.

The public health authority urged caution over the confirmation of ‘Omicron’ in the Maldives, pushing the public to take the necessary precautions for their safety and for the safety of others and to pay special heed to the instructions and guidelines set forth by the authorities.

HPA stressed on the importance of adhering to safety measures to avoid another Covid-19 wave from hitting the Maldives and urged the public to provide their full support and cooperation in helping authorities curb the spread of the infection.

The public health authorities have urged the public to get their vaccination doses, adhere to guidelines set place in hosting events and gatherings and even in the work environment to prevent the risk of widespread infection.

This comes at a time the government imposed a ban on travel from seven countries in Africa recently, triggered by the threats ‘Omicron’. Travelers have been banned from South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Eswatini, including those who visited these countries 14 days before arriving into the Maldives, as well as those who transited in these countries for more than 12 hours.

Further, the announcement reads that those who have travelled to the Maldives after spending more than 14 days in these countries and over 12 hours in transit, must observe a quarantine period of 14 days.

These new measures have been implemented at a time President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has also revealed that there have been surging concerns regarding the more transmissible ‘Omicron’ SARS-CoV-2 variant.

Research indicates that those who have recovered from Covid-19 are at a high risk of contracting the new variant, dubbed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The country has been in a state of public health emergency for over a year, since 12 March 2020. It was extended a 21st time to expire on December 30.