Maldives reported the 61st death from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, early Saturday.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed that deceased is an 80-year-old Maldivian woman who was being treated at the Hulhumalé Medical Facility when she succumbed to complications from the virus.

The woman’s death was reported at around 00:22am on Saturday.

This pushes the country’s total Covid-19 death toll to 61, including 53 Maldivians and eight foreigners.

The latest Covid-19 deaths were reported a week earlier, when a 63-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man admitted for treatment at Dharumavantha Hospital’s DH11 succumbed to complications from the virus.

This comes at a time Covid-19 fatalities have doubled in count since January 2021. As such, while four deaths were observed in January, the number increased to nine so far this month.

With a spike in case count, hospitalizations have also increased in comparison to what was observed during the second Covid-19 wave in 2020.

HPA stressed that fewer people visit the flu clinic now despite having Covid-19 symptoms, which in turns show a lesser flu positivity rate despite daily infections spiking. The Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) has since revealed that stricter measures will be enforced to subdue the third Covid-19 wave and curb virus transmission.