Covid-19: Maldives reports 105 new cases, additional death

105 new cases and one additional death from Covid-19 were reported on Sunday, bringing the country's case total to 15,841.

Health Protection Agency (HPA) statistics reveal Sunday's 105 new cases were discovered from 2,600 samples tested by authorities within 24 hours. A total of 410,006 samples have been tested for Covid-19 in the country thus far.

A majority of Sunday's new infections were from the Male' region, with 88 cases corresponding to cases in the congested capital city. Four infections were reported from inhabited islands and 12 were from operational resorts, with one additional case from a liveaboard vessel.

HPA has now established voluntary sampling stations in Male', and have issued an advisory for all those experiencing flu-like symptoms to get tested for the infection, and to remain in self-isolation until a negative test result for Covid-19 can be confirmed for them. The night-time curfew for Male', which was dissolved in December last year, has been reinstated in a bid to discourage gatherings as the number of positive cases being reported in the capital continue to spike.

While the Maldives' total Covid-19 tally now stands at 15,841, there are currently 1,644 are active cases.

Further, with an additional 43 recoveries reported by sundown on Sunday, 14,139 Covid-stricken patients have observed full recoveries from the infection.

163 patients are currently receiving in-hospital care for Covid-19, which is 11 more than the previous day.

The public health authority confirmed the 52nd death from Covid-19 in the Maldives, after an 88-year-old admitted at Hulhumale' Medical Facility passed away at 07:33pm on Sunday.

Spokesperson for the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) Dr. Nazla Rafeeq has expressed concern for the worrying trend of increased transmissions being observed in the country. She said that it was important for members of the public to follow existing health and safety precautions for the good of the community, and added that vaccination was a critical tool to immunize and protect the population against dangerous communicable diseases.

While the increasing number of new cases reported continue to apply pressure on an already strained healthcare system, Maldivian health authorities have initiated the nation's first Covid-19 vaccination programs across the country following emergency MFDA approval for the Covishield vaccine. Vaccination efforts began in central Male' City, Addu City in the south of the country and Kulhudhuffushi island in the north, on Monday.