On Sunday evening, The Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed the 70th death linked to Covid-19 in the Maldives.

The public health authority confirmed the deceased as a 72-year-old local woman, and revealed that she had been declared dead at around 9:22am on Saturday.

It has been confirmed that the deceased was Naaila Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu, a lifetime educator and partner to Dr. Mohamed Zahir Hussain.

Naaila is survived by three children and spouse Dr. Zahir, who served in different posts of the cabinet during former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s tenure. Daughter of formerly renowned businessman in the 1950s and 1980s, Dhidhdhoo Ibrahim Kaleyfaan, the deceased is also sibling of Ali Hashim, current Governer at Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) and former Minister of Defense Tholhath Ibrahim.

Naaila's passing marks the 70th death linked to Covid-19 reported in the Maldives, and the third Covid-death confirmed over the past weekend. Over 26,300 people have contracted the infection in the Maldives thus far, and more than 2,000 cases remain active as the number of new cases being reported spike across the country in recent days.