COVID-19: 22 new infections, 12 new recoveries

Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Saturday, announced 22 additional cases of the new coronavirus, increasing confirmed coronavirus cases in Maldives to 2,305.

According to HPA, the 22 new cases are; 14 Bangladeshis, four Maldivians, and four Sri Lankans.

Meanwhile, 12 additional coronavirus patients were confirmed to have made full recoveries over the last 24-hours, increasing total recoveries to 1,875 people.

The new developments means Maldives now has 417 active cases.

There are 310 people in isolation facilities, and 220 people in quarantine facilities.

47,741 samples, including repeated samples, have been taken by health authorities to conduct coronavirus testing.

Maldives identified its first coronavirus case on March 7, and declared a state of public health emergency over the pandemic four days later on March 11.

While coronavirus cases had initially been restricted to resorts and safaris, and later quarantine facilities holding inbound travelers, Male’ City identified its first coronavirus case on April 15, prompting a city-wide lockdown and a nationwide ban on nonessential travel.

The populous capital quickly emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Maldives, contributing to over 90 percent of total cases.

35 percent of the 2,305 coronavirus cases in the country are Maldivians, while the remaining 65 percent are foreign nationals. 1,203 people – making for 52 percent of total coronavirus cases – are Bangladeshis. The rest of the coronavirus cases include 808 Maldivians, 211 Indians, 43 Nepalese, and 17 Sri Lankans and 11 Italians.

Maldives began relaxing its lockdown following a drop in daily infections in the end of May.

Maldives has announced plans to relax more restrictions in the coming month, the most significant of which will be the reopening of the country’s borders to tourists. The month of July will also see the reopening of government offices, reopening of cafes and restaurants for dine-in services and reopening of mosques in the capital for prayer congregations with special arrangements.

Meanwhile, testing capacity is scheduled to be increased to 3,000 tests per day with the expansion to two additional regions; Addu City and Kulhudhuffushi City.