Covid-19: 145 new cases detected, total recoveries top 16,000

145 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the Maldives on Saturday, bringing the island nation's total Covid-19 tally up to 18,612 with over 16,061 recoveries reported across the country.

Of Saturday's 145 new cases, 89 were detected from the Greater Male' Area and 22 from inhabited islands, including four tourists from Maafushi island. In addition to this, 32 positive cases were confirmed from operational resorts, alongside an additional two cases from liveaboard vessels. With this, a total of 18,612 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the Maldives, and 96 recoveries from the infection observed between Friday and Saturday have pushed the total number of Covids-19 recoveries in the country above the 16,000-mark.

The number of active cases of Covid-19 across the Maldives increased by 38 to 2,484 between Friday and Saturday, and a total of 162 persons are currently in admitted in-hospital for care from Covid-19.

An additional two Covid-19 related deaths were reported on Saturday, with which a total of 60 deaths have now been confirmed as linked to the virus in the country. 12 people have died in the Maldives from Covid-19 and related health complications in the ongoing year of 2021.

At a press conference held on Saturday, health authorities expressed concern that the health and safety regulations being implemented actross the nation were not being effective in preventing the spread of Covid-19. Dr. Nazla Mustafa of the Maldives Technical Advisory Group on Immunization expressed concern at the press that the number of new cases being detected across the Maldives had steadily remained over 100 since 24 January, and that the restrictions imposed on gatherings and movement in the Male' area in February had not proven significantly effective in reducing the caseload eight days post-implementation.

Further, Director of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) Ahmed Nasir confirmed at Saturday's press that a cluster had developed within the headwquarters of the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) in Dharubaaruge, from where six persons had thus far tested positive for Covid-19. He added that a further 29 persons had been identified as direct contacts of these positive cases, and confirmed health and safety regulations had been tightened at Dharubaaruge following the discovery of this cluster.

Authorities have advised that all members of the public contribute the national effort to control the spread of Covid-19, by supporting the Covid-19 vaccination programme and strictly following the health and safety restrictions currently in place across the country. While it has been confirmed that the Maldives is now experiencing a third wave of the global Covid-19 pandemic, more new cases of the infection are being confirmed every day, especially from the nation's congested capital of Male' City.