COVID-19: Maldives records 67 new cases, 97 recoveries

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Saturday, confirmed an additional 67 cases of COVID-19 and 97 recoveries.

According to the agency, the new cases consist of 58 locals and nine foreigners.

HPA revealed that 41 of the infections were reported in the Greater Male' Region, while the remaining 26 cases were detected outside of the capital area.

In addition to the Greater Male' Region, active virus cases are currently present in 22 inhabited islands as well as 20 resorts across the archipelago.

With these developments, Maldives currently records a total of 10,465 virus cases of which 1,144 are active cases, in addition to 9,310 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 88.9 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 34.9 million people and claimed over 1 million lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 25.9 million people have recovered.