COVID-19: Maldives records 53 new cases, 93 recoveries

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Sunday, confirmed an additional 53 cases of COVID-19 and 93 recoveries.

According to the agency, the new cases consist of 42 locals and 11 foreigners.

HPA revealed that 53 of the infections were reported in the Greater Male' Region, while the remaining six cases were detected outside of the capital area.

In addition to the Greater Male' Region, active virus cases are currently present in 19 inhabited islands as well as 23 resorts across the archipelago.

With these developments, Maldives currently records a total of 10,098 virus cases of which 1,210 are active cases, in addition to 8,847 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 87.6 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 33.1 million people and claimed over 1 million lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 24.5 million people have recovered.