Maldives reports 124 new Covid-19 cases, 161 recoveries
18,695 patients have recovered thus far
Covid19 - Male' ge reygandu ge manzaruthah | RaajjeMV
124 new infections of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have brought the Maldives Covid-19 total case count to 21,268.
According to latest statistics publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), a total of 124 new coronavirus infections were confirmed by sundown on Tuesday, out of which 100 were detected in the Greater Malé Region, whereas 13 were discovered from residential islands and the remaining 11 from operational resorts.
The new cases were confirmed out of the 3,059 samples collected for testing from 6pm Wednesday to 6pm Thursday.
Further, HPA reported 161 recoveries from the virus on Sunday, which means that a total of 18,695 patients have recovered from the virus in the island nation since the pandemic surfaced in the country over a year ago on March 7.
Maldives active coronavirus infections dropped to 2,502 from 2,539 by sundown on Thursday, out of which 157 patients remain hospitalized for treatment, which is seven patients less than the previous day.
Last week, public health authorities reported the 64th death from Covid-19, confirming the passing of a 78-year-old local man, being treated on the 11th floor of Dharumavantha Hospital.
At a time daily infections being reported have been over 100 for weeks now, public health authorities recently extended and implemented stricter measures across the nation in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the region.
For over a month, infections have been snowballing and public health authorities have been raising concern over the mounting caseload, however, the authorities remain resolute to avoid imposing a second lockdown across the capital region.
Under new measures, Malé City residents are now required to provide negative PCR results with a sample taken 72 hours prior to traveling to island, with special permission for essential travel.
Authorities reintroduced a curfew in the Greater Malé Region on February 12, in light of the spike in daily infections being reported for the past couple of weeks. The nearly six-hour curfew was followed by restrictions on vehicle movement from 6pm to 6am for Greater Malé residents.
The country remains in a state of public health emergency since 12 March 2020, the last extension was a week before and is set to expire on April 4.
HPA statistics also show that the flu positivity rate has gone down despite the increase in cases, especially from the capital region, which means that fewer people are attending flu clinics despite presenting symptoms of Covid-19. Health authorities have warned that they may have to begin "choosing" Covid-19 patients for treatment if the caseload continues to increase, and have requested public support in controlling the spread of the virus to prevent further fatalities.
