Maldives reported 149 new Covid-19 cases and an additional 138 recoveries from the infection, by sundown on Monday.

According to latest statistics publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the new infections were confirmed through 3,957 samples collected between 6pm Sunday and 6pm Monday.

With this development, Maldives Covid-19 tally has risen to 22,662.

A total of 20,142 Covid-19-stricken patients have observed full recoveries in the Maldives, thus far.

Monday’s coronavirus cases include 120 in the Greater Malé Region, four from residential islands and 18 from operational resorts. Further, health authorities detected seven new cases from islands under development.

Maldives active coronavirus infections rose to 2,447 from 2,436 by sundown on Monday, out of which 90 patients remain hospitalized for treatment. This means that five coronavirus-stricken patients were discharged from hospitals within the past 24 hours.

The public health authority revealed that hospital admissions are currently lower than they were in mid-February, however, they are still higher in comparison to the hospital admissions recorded at the beginning of the ongoing year.

The pandemic has claimed 66 lives in the Maldives thus far, the latest victim having been reported a little past 8pm on Saturday. As such, a 66-year-old man who was rushed to the Emergency Room of Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in an unresponsive state, succumbed to complications after which authorities identified him as the 66th Covid-19 victim.

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, as the country goes through an overwhelming third peak of the pandemic. 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.

Authorities reintroduced a curfew in the Greater Malé Region on February 12, in light of the spike in daily infections being reported. The nearly six-hour curfew was followed by restrictions on vehicle movement from 6pm to 6am for Greater Malé residents. Further, authorities also restricted hours for food outlets such as cafés and restaurants to provide dine-in services. Although dine-in was prohibited at food outlets after 8pm, deliveries are currently allowed until 10:30pm. Authorities recently allowed food outlets to remain open for dine-in services until 10:30pm.

The country remains in a state of public health emergency since 12 March 2020, the last extension is set to expire on April 4.