COVID-19: Maldives records 31 new cases, 81 recoveries

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Saturday, confirmed an additional 31 cases of COVID-19 and 81 recoveries.

According to the agency, the new cases consist of 25 locals and six foreigners.

HPA revealed that 26 of the infections were reported in the Greater Male' Region, while the remaining five cases were detected outside of the capital area.

In addition to the Greater Male' Region, active virus cases are currently present in 20 inhabited islands as well as 24 resorts across the archipelago.

With these developments, Maldives currently records a total of 10,045 virus cases of which 1,250 are active cases, in addition to 8,754 recoveries and 34 deaths.

During 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.

After a long period of recording over 100 daily cases, the numbers have fallen to two-digits during the most part of September. Within this same period, the number of recoveries saw a significant increase, bringing the number of recovered cases to 86.6 percent.

Despite the sustained increase, HPA has renewed calls for citizens to adhere to protective measures to contain the spread of the virus, cautioning against a public sentiment that the outbreak has been “controlled”.

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 32.8 million people and claimed over 995,400 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 24.2 million people have recovered.