91 out of the 128 new infections of the global Covid-19 pandemic reported in the Maldives by sundown on Tuesday, were from the Greater Malé Region.
According to latest statistics publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the new infections were confirmed through 4,336 samples collected between 6pm Sunday and 6pm Monday.
Tuesday’s coronavirus cases include 91 in the Greater Malé Region, 11 from residential islands and 26 from operational resorts.
Further, with an additional 84 recoveries reported by sundown on Tuesday, the country has observed a total of 20,226 recoveries from the infection since it surfaced in the island nation during March 2020.
Maldives Covid-19 tally currently sits at 22,790.
Maldives active coronavirus infections rose to 2,491 from 2,447 by Tuesday’s end, out of which 102 patients remain hospitalized for treatment. This is 12 patients more than the previous day.
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.