COVID-19: Daily cases soar over 100 after a week of low numbers

The daily virus cases identified in Maldives rose above 100 on Sunday, after nearly a week of recording two-digit numbers, as Health Protection Agency (HPA) announced an additional 121 cases of COVID-19, as well as 271 recoveries.

According to the agency, the new cases include 75 locals and 46 foreigners.

HPA revealed that 102 of the additional infections were reported in the Greater Male' Region, while the remaining 19 cases were detected from islands outside of the capital area.

With these developments, Maldives currently records a total of 9,173 virus cases of which 1,809 are active cases, in addition to 7,326 recoveries and 32 deaths.

In addition to the Greater Male' region, active virus cases are currently present in 25 inhabited islands as well as 32 resorts across the archipelago.

During the last month, authorities tightened the safety measures implemented in the Greater Male' region, following an alarming upsurge of COVID-19 cases after the state initiated efforts to steer the country towards a 'new normal' with the phased easing of lockdown restrictions.

Authorities have stated that the effects of implementing stricter measures will be reflected in the case numbers towards the end of the month.

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 29 million people and claimed over 926,200 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 20.9 million people have recovered.