COVID-19: Cases increase to 1,395 with 24 testing positive

Health Protection Agency (HPA) has just announced that 24 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19.

A tweet sent out from the Agency's official account, read that with the newly confirmed cases, the total for the country now stood at 1,395.

HPA announced that the 24 new cases are:

• 18 Bangladeshis
• 4 Maldivians
• 2 Indians

The Maldives has so far recorded 144 recoveries from the virus with just four deaths.

The country recorded a community case of the virus in Male' City on April 15. It was identified after the first case of the virus confirmed in a resort in the country on March 7. 

Authorities imposed a lockdown order on Male' City after the community case. A travel ban was also introduced across the whole nation as a measure to control the virus. 

The virus spread quickly among the migrant worker population of the country which dominates the statistics in terms of confirmed cases. More than 700 Bangladeshi nationals have tested positive for the virus alone while 142 Indian nationals have also tested positive. The number of Maldivians that tested positive for the virus currently stands at 498. 

Authorities had been expecting a massive surge in the number of cases by the end of this month. However, the restrictive measures imposed in the capital had led the authorities to revise their figures and later confirm that the virus was indeed under control.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had recently announced that the restrictions on the capital are to be relaxed in a bid to continue with life under a "New Normal". Industries are also set to be reopened with tourism expected to be kickstarted in June under a Safe Tourism Guideline. Airports, schools, and mosques as well as restaurants and cafes are also set to be reopened under phases.

Despite the relax in restrictions, authorities have warned the public that the country was not out of danger and are expecting case numbers around 30-50 per day. The President also warned that he would not hesitate to reimpose the restrictive measures if the situation in the country dwindled.