Covid-19: 51 new cases reported with 35 recoveries

Maldives reported 51 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, bringing the number of total coronavirus infections in the country to 14,513.

Out of the 51 new infections, 19 were from the Greater Male' Region, three from inhabited islands, and one from a liveaboard vessel. 28 of the 51 new cases were reported from resorts.

35 additional recoveries were reported on Sunday, pushing total recoveries to 13,540. The country’s mortality rate is at 0.34 percent with 49 deaths.

According to Health Protection Agency (HPA) statistics, there are 917 active cases of Covid-19 in the Maldives, and 69 individuals are receiving in-hospital treatment for the infection. Including the 3,003 samples tested in the last 24 hours, the Maldives has now tested a total of 364,325 samples for Covid-19.

The past week saw schools across the nation welcome students for the final semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. A few students and teachers have started testing positive for Covid-19 in the Greater Male' Region, including a teacher from Ghaazee School and a student from Jamaluddin School, who were reported to have tested positive on Saturday. HPA has been conducting extensive contact tracing efforts in schools that have reported positive cases.

In addition to this, more and more Covid-19 cases are being reported linked to clusters in resorts this past week. The Covid-19 tally for OBLU SELECT at Sangeli increased by 10 cases to a total of 42 on Friday, with 52 individuals having been identified as direct contacts of positive cases as contact tracing efforts continue on the island. Further, 32 out of the 87 cases reported on Saturday this week were staff members from Sun Siyam Olhuveli Beach and Spa Resort in South Male' Atoll.

Spokesperson for the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC), Dr. Nazla Rafeeq called out resorts for their recklessness in following Covid-19 safety rules this past weekend, noting that some resorts were refusing to test people despite them exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19. She also highlighted that masking rules and social distancing were not being implemented in communal staff areas at resorts, and that this was contributing to increased risk of transmissions.

When the first cases of Covid-19 were reported in the country as community transmissions, the capital city was brought into a full lockdown last year to curb the spread of the infection. Parts of the nation continue to be under monitoring due to the discovery of positive cases, with international borders being opened cautiously on 15 July 2020 after months of closure that brought the nation's tourism sector to a grinding halt.

The state of public health emergency first declared across the Maldives on 12 March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic has been extended until next month.

HPA has announced that the opportunity to register for Covid-19 vaccinations will be open through the my.health.mv portal starting from Monday.