70 out of 121 new Covid-19 cases detected from atolls

70 out of 121 new Covid-19 cases were detected from outside the Maldives congested capital, Malé City on Tuesday.

According to the latest figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), 121 new infections and 149 additional recoveries were confirmed between 6pm Monday and 6pm Tuesday.

The new cases were confirmed through 4,074 samples tested in the reporting period, of which 31 returned positive from the Maldives congested capital, Malé City, 70 samples returned positive from residential islands and 20 from operational resorts.

With this development active Covid-19 cases across the Maldives dropped to 1,924 from 1,952.

Maldives total Covid-19 cases have surged to 94,178, with the total number of patients who have recovered from the virus so far in the Maldives having risen to 91,981 by sundown on Tuesday as well.

Further, HPA revealed that 13 patients are currently receiving in-hospital treatment, which means that one patient was hospitalized for treatment over the past 24 hours.

Maldives reported its first Covid-19 fatality in April 2020 and since then, the death toll has risen to 260. The latest victim was long-serving statesman Umar Zahir, who was aged 84 at the time of his death. He succumbed to complications of the virus while receiving treatment at Dharumavantha Hospital. 10 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. Since then, the public health authority in its latest presser has revealed that four more cases have been detected.

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.