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COVID-19: HPA confirms 86 more cases, total count rises to 734

Ahmed Aiham
08 May 2020, MVT 18:42
Frontline staff donning full personal protective equipment (PPE)s. PHOTO: AHMED AWSHAN ILYAS / MIHAARU
Ahmed Aiham
08 May 2020, MVT 18:42

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Friday, confirmed that 86 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives.

According to the agency, the new cases consist of 67 Bangladeshi nationals, three Indian nationals, 14 Maldivians, one Sri Lankan national and one Nepali citizen.

With this development, Maldives presently records 734 confirmed, 711 active cases of COVID-19 and a total of 20 recoveries.

The country recorded its first virus death, of an 83-year-old local female, on April 29. The second death involved the passing of a 33-year-old male Bangladeshi national, following a tonic-clonic seizure, while a third COVID-19 fatality involved an 80-year-old local man who had passed away on late Thursday.

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.

The disease is disproportionately affecting the country's sizable expatriate population, of which a majority are Bangladeshi nationals that live in highly congested quarters where it is impossible to reduce contact or exercise social distancing.

On April 21, authorities launched monitoring operations centred around the living quarters of expatriate workers, having acknowledged that the congested nature of such zones placed these foreign nationals at a significantly higher risk of contracting the virus.

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 3.94 million people and claimed over 271,426 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, 1.36 million people have recovered.

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