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COVID-19: HPA confirms 28th death in Maldives

Ahmed Aiham
25 August 2020, MVT 09:13
An empty street captured from above during the strict restrictive measures implemented in April. The 28th individual to succumb to the virus was announced by the Health Protection Agency on August 25. PHOTO: AHMED AWSHAN ILYAS / MIHAARU
Ahmed Aiham
25 August 2020, MVT 09:13

Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Tuesday, announced the 28th COVID-19-related death in Maldives.

The deceased was a 73-year-old Maldivian male, who was receiving emergency treatment at the Hulhumale' Medical Facility (HMF).

He passed away at 0522 hrs and is the 22nd local to have succumbed to the virus. The remaining fatalities are five Bangladeshi nationals and a Filipino citizen.

With this development, the island nation now records total 6,912 confirmed and 2,587 active COVID-19 cases, along with 4,297 recoveries and 28 deaths.

In addition to the Greater Male' region, active virus cases are present in 22 inhabited islands throughout 11 atolls in the archipelago.

Furthermore, HPA noted that active cases are present in 12 resorts across the archipelago.

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.

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 23.8 million people and claimed over 817,005 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 16.3 million people have recovered.

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