COVID-19: HPA confirms 98 more cases, 114 recoveries in Maldives

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) on Sunday confirmed 98 more cases of COVID-19 in Maldives, as well as 114 recoveries.

The new cases include 72 Maldivians and 26 expatriates.

According to the agency, 87 of the newly positive cases were reported in the Greater Male' Region, while the remaining 11 were detected from islands outside of the capital area.

With these developments, the island nation now records total 8,584 confirmed and 2,613 active COVID-19 cases, along with 5,936 recoveries and 29 deaths.

In addition to the Greater Male' region, active virus cases are present in 35 inhabited islands as well as 22 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.

The number of recoveries, which consisted of 86 percent of total infections at peak recovery rate, currently stands at 69 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.

Experts have described Maldives' current situation as a "dire" one. The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) announced that Maldives' current alert level is at nine, noting that authorities may have to implement a second lockdown if the alert level hits 10.

HPA's Medical Officer Dr Nazla Rafeeq recently revealed that the country is heading towards reaching maximum bed capacity, repeatedly advising the public to adhere to HPA's safety guidelines.

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 27.2 million people and claimed over 885,900 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 19.2 million people have recovered.