A 60-year-old local woman being treated for Covid-19 at the 11th storey of Dharumavantha Hospital has passed away on Sunday.

This is the 55th Covid-related death confirmed in the Maldives. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said the 60-year-old local woman being treated for Covid-19 at Dharumavantha Hospital had passed away at 11:07 on Sunday morning.

While most of the those who have passed away after contracting Covid-19 in the Maldives are elderly locals, this is the fourth coronavirus related death reported since January 31.

As more and more cases of the infection are being reported daily, the number of patients being hospitalized after contracting Covid-19 has also increased. As of 6PM Saturday, out of 2,039 active cases, 207 corresponded to those who were receiving in-hospital care in the Maldives for Covid-19.

Health authorities have advised members of the public to be more cautious in following Covid-19 health and safety regulations, stressing that a rise in cases, if left uncontrolled, could overburden the country's already strained healthcare system further.

Also, on Sunday morning, a Maldivian man aged 38, who was being treated for the infection in Dubai, UAE, also passed away after spending over two weeks in a coma.

Abdulla Iyad Ahmed had tested positive for Covid-19 in the first week of January, along with a friend who had travelled with him and his wife to Dubai. Iyad’s infection had worsened to the point where his lung and kidney functions had begun to deteriorate, following which he was admitted in ICU at a hospital in Dubai in the second week of January. Iyad’s lungs did not improve, and he was placed on a ventilator on 19 January as his body was unable to breathe independently of the machine. His friend, who tested positive with him in Dubai in the first week of January, is reported to be doing in well.

Iyad, an employee working at Housing Development Corporation (HDC). Iyad first began working at HDC in March 2017, and had a service record of three years and 10 months in the HDC's Municipal Services and Vehicle Workshop Department at the time of his passing