COVID19: HPA confirms 24 additional cases

The Health Protection Agency revealed that 24 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives.

According to the agency, the individuals comprise of three locals and 21 foreigners; of which one is an Indian national, while the remaining 20 are Bangladeshi nationals.

The aforementioned cases include samples that were obtained through active surveillance done on vulnerable homes.

With this development, Maldives currently records 642 confirmed, 620 active cases of COVID-19 and a total of 20 recoveries.

The country recorded its first virus death, of an 83-year-old local female, on April 29. The second death involved the passing of a 33-year-old male Bangladeshi national, following a tonic-clonic seizure, who afterwards tested positive for COVID-19.

Following the first confirmed local transmission on April 15, Malé has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases. The city is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

The disease has also disproportionately affected the country's large expatriate population, the majority of whom are Bangladeshi nationals and live in highly congested quarters where it is impossible to reduce contact or exercise social distancing.

In addition to the capital, COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Uligan in Haa Alif Atoll, Narudhoo and Milandhoo in Shaviyani Atoll, and Thulusdhoo in Kaafu Atoll.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 3.8 million people and claimed over 265,900 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, 1.3 million people have recovered.