1 coronavirus patient in Hulhumale’ facility being treated on ventilator

Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) announced on Sunday that 63 coronavirus patients have been hospitalized, out of whom one patient in the Hulhumale’ medical facility is being treated on a ventilator.

At a HEOC press conference on Sunday night, spokesperson and epidemiologist Dr. Nazla Rafeeq said that 63 coronavirus patients are receiving hospital treatment. One of the patients is being treated at the Dharumavantha Hospital in Male’, while the remaining 62 patients are being treated at the medical facility in suburban Hulhumale’.

Nazla said that one of the patients in the Hulhumale’ medical facility, identified as a foreign national, is being treated on an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ventilator.

There are 544 coronavirus patients in isolation facilities; 464 Maldivian nationals and 108 foreign nationals.

Maldives has recorded 3,302 coronavirus cases, including 50 new cases identified this Sunday. The 50 new cases include 34 Maldivians, 14 Bangladeshis, and two Indians.

2,534 patients have since recovered, while 15 have died from complications.

The number of active cases stands at 738.

Maldives identified its first coronavirus case on March 7, and declared a state of public health emergency over the pandemic less than a week later on March 12.

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.

1,488 people – making for 45 percent of the 3,302 coronavirus cases in the country, are Maldivians, while the remaining 55 percent are foreign nationals.

The rest of the coronavirus cases include 1,458 Bangladeshis, 258 Indians, 46 Nepalese, and 25 Sri Lankans and 11 Italians.