COVID-19: 27 positive cases, 40 recoveries

Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced that 27 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Maldives along with 40 recoveries.

The confirmed cases tonight include:

• 14 locals
• 12 Bangladeshi nationals
• 01 Indian national

Accordign to the HPA statistics, the Maldives has now confirmed a total of 2,003 cases of the pandemic virus. There are 346 individuals in quarantine facilities while a further 742 individuals are in isolation facilities. Eight deaths related to COVID-19 have so far been reported in the Maldives. They include four elderly locals and four Bangladeshi nationals.

Authorities have so far collected 33,378 sampes for the virus including repeat samples. 

HPA also announced that 40 individuals have recovered from the virus tonight. This brings the total number of active virus cases in the country down to 800. 

The country identified its first COVID-19 case on March 7 and declared a state of public health emergency over the pandemic four days later on March 11. Male’ City identified its first COVID-19 case on April 15, prompting a city-wide lockdown and a nationwide ban on nonessential travel.

However, due to a control in the number of cases reported on daily basis, authorities have begun introducing easements to the lockdown measures. Schools, mosques and restaurants in the capital are to be reopened in July. Civilians would be allowed to go outdoors when the current lockdown order placed on the capital expires on June 14.

Other islands of the country have been brought back to normalcy, however, a positive case of COVID-19 was identified in a quarantine facility of Addu City.