The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Saturday, confirmed 119 more cases of COVID-19 in Maldives with an additional 109 recoveries.
According to the agency, the new cases include 100 Maldivians, 11 Bangladeshi nationals, three Indians, two Filipinos, two Emiratis, and one Sri Lankan citizen.
HPA stated that 110 of the newly positive cases were reported in the Greater Male' region, while the remaining nine were identified in islands outside of the capital area.
With these developments, the island nation now records total 6,779 confirmed and 2,531 active COVID-19 cases, along with 4,222 recoveries and 26 deaths.
In addition to the Greater Male' region, active virus cases are present in 22 inhabited islands throughout 11 atolls in the archipelago. This includes a 35-year-old Filipino male who tested positive in Kinolhas, Raa Atoll, on Sunday, marking the first case recorded on the island.
Authorities confirmed that Kinolhas is currently placed under monitoring.
Furthermore, HPA noted that active cases are present in 12 resorts across the archipelago.
A total of 11 patients are being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the moment, while eight more are on ventilator support.
After recording significantly low numbers in the months of May and June, the island nation recorded a significant rise in the number of COVID-19 cases per capita, indicating an alarming community spread in the country.
With the increasing number of infections, the number of recoveries has also risen in the past couple of weeks, after the recent spike reduced the total amount of recovered patients from the peak 86 to the lowest 53 percent. This value currently stands at 62 percent.
The number of COVID-19 cases skyrocketed after the state initiated efforts to steer the country towards a 'new normal' with the phased easing of lockdown restrictions across the Greater Male' Region. As one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Maldives' capital Malé continues to record a significant number of COVID-19 cases, similar to the first weeks following the first confirmed local transmission on April 15.
Noting the economic repercussions of implementing lockdown measures again, authorities have continually requested the public to adhere to HPA's safety guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus as life continues in the 'new normal'.
However, authorities have stressed that re-implementing lockdown measures will be necessary if infections continue to increase beyond the health sector's capacity to handle testing and treatment.
Public Health Specialist Dr Sheena Moosa expressed her belief, on Sunday, that that going for a second lockdown will be Maldives' best step in preventing the situation from worsening.
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 23.4 million people and claimed over 810,200 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 15.9 million people have recovered.
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