COVID-19: Maldives records 13 more cases, 16 recoveries

Health Protection Agency (HPA) on Monday announced that 13 more individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives, while 16 made full recoveries.

According to the agency, the new cases include five Maldivians, seven Bangladeshi nationals and one Indian citizen.

With these developments, Maldives presently has a total of 2,337 confirmed cases, out of which 397 are active cases of COVID-19. Thus far, the country records 1,927 recoveries and eight fatalities.

The COVID-19 outbreak in the Maldives’ capital has disproportionately affected its migrant worker population, the majority of whom are Bangladeshi nationals living in highly congested quarters where it is impossible to reduce contact or exercise social distancing.

Their often small-spaced living conditions have been described by local and international civil society organizations as, "claustrophobic", "unsanitary" and "overcrowded". Meanwhile, the authorities have moved to identify such labour quarters and move the expatriates to safer environments.

As one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Maldives' capital Malé recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases in the first weeks following the first confirmed local transmission on April 15.

However, the number of recoveries have continued to rise, with roughly 82 percent of patients now recovered.

On March 12, WHO classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. To date, the new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 10.3 million people and claimed over 505,900 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 5.6 million people have recovered.