COVID-19: HPA identifies 66 contacts of deceased Bangladeshi

Health Protection Agency revealed on Tuesday night that till now, 66 contacts have been identified for the 33-year-old Bangladeshi citizen who passed away in a COVID-19 related death during the early hours of the day.

Speaking at the virtually-held press conference hosted by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) at 2200hrs, Dr Ibrahim Afzal stated that the aforementioned individuals have been placed in isolation.

He added that contact tracing was still ongoing, meaning that these numbers may increase in the future.

HPA also confirmed that the Bangladesh national was employed at Kalhuthukkalaa Koshi (KK), a military facility located in capital Male'.

According to the doctors present at the press conference held by NEOC on Tuesday evening, the individual suffered a massive haemorrhaging of the brain following a tonic-clonic seizure.

Despite later testing positive for COVID-19, the victim's death was primarily related to external underlying conditions and is believed to have been asymptomatic of the virus.

However, under World Health Organization (WHO)'s guidelines for certification and classification of COVID-19 as a cause of death, the individual's passing is regarded as a COVID-19 related death.

Therefore, is considered to mark the second death in Maldives in relation to the local community spread of COVID-19 virus. The country recorded its first virus death, of an 83-year-old local female, on April 29.

Maldives now records 573 confirmed, 553 active cases of COVID-19 and a total of 20 recoveries.

Following the first confirmed local transmission on April 15, Malé has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases. The city is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

In addition to the capital, COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Uligan in Haa Alif Atoll, Narudhoo and Milandhoo in Shaviyani Atoll, and Thulusdhoo in Kaafu Atoll.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 3.6 million people and claimed over 255,176 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, 1.2 million people have recovered.