COVID-19: Maldives records 51 new cases, 51 recoveries

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Thursday, confirmed an additional 51 cases of COVID-19 and 51 recoveries.

According to the agency, the new cases consist of 33 locals and 18 foreigners.

HPA revealed that 46 of the new infections were reported in the Greater Male' Region while the five remaining cases were identified in islands outside the capital area.

In addition to the Greater Male' Region, active virus cases are currently present in 18 inhabited islands as well as 19 resorts across the archipelago.

With these developments, Maldives currently records a total of 11,113 virus cases of which 1,140 are active cases, in addition to 9,931 recoveries and 35 deaths

During August, 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 over 89 percent.

Despite the sustained decrease in virus cases, 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 38.9 million people and claimed over 1 million lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 29.2 million people have recovered.