COVID-19: 89 new cases, active cases reach 1,996

Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Thursday, announced 89 new cases of COVID-19, increasing confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Maldives to 4,769.

According to HPA, the 86 new cases are 58 Maldivians, 19 Bangladeshis, six Indians, two Sri Lankans, two Britons, one American, and one Egyptian.

83 of the cases were identified from the greater Male’ region, while six were identified from other atolls.

Meanwhile, 29 additional COVID-19 patients were confirmed to have made full recoveries over the last 24-hours, increasing total recoveries to 2,754.

The new developments mean the Maldives now has 1,996 active cases.

There are 1,470 patients in isolation facilities and 129 in hospitals.

86,651 samples, including repeated samples, have been taken by health authorities to conduct COVID-19 tests.

COVID-19 confirmed numbers in the last 7 days:

• August 7: 89 cases
• August 6: 86 cases
• August 5: 148 cases
• August 4: 153 cases
• August 3: 129 cases
• August 2: 215 cases
• August 1: 156 cases

The Maldives identified its first COVID-19 case on March 7 and declared a state of public health emergency over the pandemic less than a week later on March 12.

While COVID-19 cases had initially been restricted to resorts and safaris, and later quarantine facilities holding inbound travelers, Male’ City identified its first COVID-19 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 COVID-19 outbreak in the Maldives, contributing to over 90 percent of total cases. 19 patients have died from complications.

Greater public movement following the relaxation of many of the COVID-19 restrictions in July has led to a surge in COVID-19 cases. An increasing number of cases are unlinked to existing clusters, which health authorities warn indicates a wide community spread.

Following the surge, authorities have now declared masks mandatory in the greater Male’ region as well as all other residential islands with confirmed COVID-19 cases. Authorities have announced a 22:00 to 05:00 curfew in the capital and a ban on all non-essential travel of persons from the capital to other residential islands.

Authorities have also urged that people in all residential islands, even those with no confirmed cases, wear masks when in public.