Covid-19: Daily new infections reported top 500 across Maldives
74 people have died from Covid-19 and related health complications in the Maldives
The Maldives has been in a state of public health emergency for over a year
Maldives reported over 500 new Covid-19 infections on Sunday as the active case count of Covid-19 infections reached 5,594.
Latest statistics publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reveal that a total of 508 new Covid-19 infections were detected nationwide between 6pm Saturday and 6pm Sunday.
276 of the 508 new cases reported Wednesday were from the Male' area, with 185 new cases reported from inhabited islands, and 12 cases from operational resorts. 32 additional infections were detected from islands reserved for industrial use, along with three new cases from liveaboard vessels.
Health authorities tested a total of 3,523 samples for the infection between Saturday and Sunday.
This is the worst week for Covid-19 infections since the pandemic first reached the country in March 2020. The Maldives' total Covid-19 case tall is now 30,745.
With Sunday's 508 new infections, the number of active cases of Covid-19 across the country have increased by 373 to 5,594 active cases.
By the end of Sunday, there were 172 people receiving in-hospital care for Covid-19 across the country.
A further 134 recoveries from the infection were reported on Sunday, bringing the total number of recoveries observed for the infection in Maldives up to 25,086.
Covid-19 health and safety restrictions were eased across the densely-populated capital ahead of Ramazan and the Local Council and Women's Development Committee Elections, following which there has been a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases being reported in the city.
The state of public health emergency in effect across the country since last year has been extended until 4 May. Authorities most recently confirmed the 74th death from Covid-19 in Maldives, with the passing of an Indian national on Saturday evening. He is the second Indian national to have succumbed to Covid-19 in Maldives in the past week.
Over the past week, Maldives confirmed a record of over 2,000 new infections. This is the highest daily cases have been reported since the pandemic surfaced in Maldives during March 2020. At a time the caseload across residential islands has also been increasing, HPA revealed that as of Saturday, there are a total of 22 islands under monitoring.
Public health authorities continue to stress the importance of following Covid-19 health and safety measures set to control transmission of the virus, including social distancing, avoiding public gatherings, maintaining hand hygiene and effective masking while outdoors.
