106 new cases and 15 additional hospitalizations due to Covid-19 were reported in Maldives on Thursday, making it the fifth day in a row that new cases have topped 100 in the island nation.

On Thursday night, the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine as manufactured by India's Serum Institute for emergency use in the Maldives. The approval came at the heels of Health Protection Agency (HPA) reinstating a curfew and ban on public gatherings for the Greater Male' Area on Tuesday in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Of the 106 new cases reported on Thursday, 93 were from the Male' area, 4 from inhabited islands, 8 cases from operational resorts and one case from a liveaboard vessel. As such, the Maldives' total Covid-19 tally now sits at 15,496, with the number of active cases increasing by 44 to 1,410 between Wednesday and Thursday.

3,292 samples were tested in the last 24 hours by health authorities for Covid-19, bringing the total number of samples tested in the country up to 400,640. As of now, 116 people are receiving in-hospital care for Covid-19 in the Maldives, which is 15 more than the previous day.

An additional 62 recoveries were observed from patients who had contracted the virus between Wednesday and Thursday. With this number, a total of 14,028 people have recovered from Covid-19 in the Maldives thus far. 51 people have died from COvid-19 related health complications in the country, with the most recent death being reported on Sunday.

Speaking on the special "Jazeera Salla" Covid-19 Q&A program hosted by spokesperson for the President's Office Mabrook Azeez on Wednesday, Spokesperson for the Health Emergency Operations Center Dr. Nazla Rafeeq said that health authorities had been adjusting Covid-19 health and safety restrictions based on the trend being observed for the infection's spread. She added that stricter regulations had been introduced as the number of new cases being reported in the country had been on the rise, and encouraged members of the public to practice caution in following quarantine, masking and social distancing rules in the coming days.

While Dr. Nazla noted that the Maldives had been able to ride out a second wave of the virus last year without reintroducing a lockdown, she said that the public health authority would be closely monitoring the trend for transmission of the Covid-19 in the country. Voluntary sampling stations have also been set up at the Hulhumale' Flu Clinic and in the building behind Male' Hiyaa 2, with the HPA encouraging all those experiencing flu-like symptoms to get tested for Covid-19 and remain in self-isolation until a negative test result is confirmed.