134 additional new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the Maldives, with an 84-year-old man passing away on Thursday evening while being treated for the infection at Dharumavantha Hospital.

Of the 134 new cases of Covid-19 reported between Wednesday and Thursday, 110 were from the Greater Male' region, nine from inhabited islands and 13 from operational resorts. One additional case was reported from a non-operational resort, along with one from an industrial island.

With this, a total of 16,410 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the Maldives, 1,930 of which are active cases. Between 6PM Wednesday and 6PM Thursday, an additional 84 recoveries from the infection were observed in the country, bringing the number of total recoveries from Covid-19 in the Maldives up to 14,419.

On Thursday evening, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed that an 84-year-old local male passed away while being treated for the infection at Dharumavantha Hospital. This is the 54th Covid-19 related death in the Maldives, with the 53rd one having been reported on Wednesday as a 70-year-old local man passed away from the virus.

Health authorities tested 3,886 samples for the infection on Thursday, bringing the total number of samples tested in the country for Covid-19 thus far up to 424,323.

As per the HPA's latest vaccination update, 1,626 persons were administered shots of the Covid-19 vaccine between 6PM Wednesday and 6PM Thursday. Of this number, 1,477 correspond to those vaccinated in the Greater Male' area, and 149 are those who were inoculated in vaccination centers across different atolls. As such, currently a total of 3,204 persons have received the Covid-19 vaccine in the Maldives.

Authorities are clamping down on Covid-19 health and safety measures as the number of new cases being reported continue to increase, especially in the nation's congested capital. A curfew and vehicle movement restriction have been implemented in Male' City for a period of two weeks, with a nation-wide mask mandate coming into effect on 7 February.

The HEOC has advised all members of the public to be more careful in following Covid-19 health and safety protocols, stressing that it was critical to practice strict sanitization and hygiene, in addition to observing social distancing and wearing masks effectively when outdoors.