COVID-19: Maldives records 42 new cases, 99 recoveries

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Wednesday, announced that 42 more individuals tested positive for COVID-19 while 99 more have recovered.

According to the agency, the new cases consist of 27 locals and 15 foreigners.

HPA revealed that 37 of the new infections were reported in the Greater Male' Region while the remaining five cases was identified outside the capital area.

In addition to the Greater Male' Region, active virus cases are currently present in 21 inhabited islands as well as 23 resorts across the archipelago.

With these developments, Maldives currently records a total of 11,358 virus cases of which 931 are active cases, in addition to 10,383 recoveries and 37 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 fell 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 88 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 41.6 million people and claimed over 1.1 million lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 31 million people have recovered.