Maldives reports 199 new Covid-19 cases; 137 from capital

Nearly 200 new Covid-19 cases have been reported within a week, most of which were confirmed from the congested capital of Maldives, Malé City.

In its latest figures publicized on Monday, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed that Covid-19 cases being reported from the congested capital of Maldives, Malé City, are continuing to spiral.

As such, over the past week, Maldives confirmed 199 new Covid-19 infections, out of which 137 cases were confirmed from the Greater Malé Region, 17 were detected from residential islands outside of the capital and 45 from others including industrial islands, liveaboard vessels and resorts.

Between April 16 – 22, the public health authority also recorded 35 new hospital admissions.

Last week, Maldives confirmed 148 new Covid-19 cases.

Maldives Covid-19 case tally currently sits at 186,241 with this development.

Maldives began observing a surge in the weekly Covid-19 numbers reported across the country over the past month.

No new fatalities were reported from Covid-19 this past week, which means that the coronavirus death toll remains at 311.

Maldives reported its first Covid-19 fatality in April 2020.

This comes at a time HPA has urged caution from the public over the alarming increase in the Covid-19 caseload as well as the wide-spreading common cold infections.

The public health authority urged the public to be cautious, issuing some important precautionary measures the public may take to avoid complications from the wide-spreading common cold and Covid-19.

As such, the public has been urged to seek immediate medical assistance and consult a doctor if they are having common cold symptoms such as persistent cough, fever and sneezing for an extensive period or if they are considered high-risk individuals.

The public has also been urged to wear face masks properly if they have symptoms of the common cold, to practice social distancing in public places and to refrain from going to public and crowded locations overall, when exhibiting symptoms.

Further, the public has been urged to frequently wash their hands with soap and water or use disinfectants to avoid spreading germs from one person to the other. Individuals who are considered high-risk have been urged to wear face masks when visiting crowded public places.

At a time the authority has rolled out Covid-19 vaccination for children as well, the public has been urged to complete their vaccine doses as soon as possible to prevent complications from the virus. As such, those who are eligible to receive booster doses have been instructed to do so without delay.

HPA has urged caution as common cold is also a respiratory disease that can quickly spread within close proximity.

Another surge in Covid-19 cases comes at a time the country is powering through the fasting month of Ramadan. This is the fourth Ramadan Maldives is observing since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.

That year, Maldivians faced major difficulties and immense losses from the economic downturn due to the restrictions in the face of the pandemic, especially during the fasting month. The country also observed a lockdown period during the fasting month.

With the alarming increase in the caseload once again, the public is advised to keep public and open spaces clean and always disinfected, on a regular basis.

The public health authority has also urged the public to get their vaccine doses against Covid-19, stressing on the importance of regular sanitization and handwashing. According to HPA, vaccination centers in the Greater Malé Region will only be operational at Hulhumalé Hospital and Dhamanaveshi during Ramadan.

The state of public health emergency declared nationwide on 12 March 2020, was dissolved starting 13 March 2022.

Currently, the public health authority is administering Pfizer vaccine doses to children between the ages of 5 and 11 in the Maldives, with children above 12 years of age being administered Pfizer vaccine and booster doses.

Maldives has been experiencing a surge in common cold cases due to the adverse effects of the severe weather conditions. Hence, it is important to follow safety precautions. As places that provide healthcare services are usually filled with high-risk individuals, HPA has urged the people to wear face masks when visiting hospitals health centers and clinics for the safety of everyone. The public health authority has also urged the people to limit hospital visitations and not visit hospitals unless necessary.