COVID-19: Maldives records 253 cases in 24 hours

Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced 253 additional cases of COVID-19.

The new cases mean that the total number of confirmed cases in the Maldives has now reached 27,874, since confirming the first case in March of last year. According to HPA, the new cases include; 147 cases from the greater Male’ region, 35 cases from residential islands outside of Male’, and 31 cases from operational resorts as well as 40 from industrial islands.

Meanwhile, 75 additional COVID-19 patients were confirmed to have made full recoveries over the last 24 hours, increasing total recoveries to 25,309. The Maldives now has 3,485 active cases. There are currently 123 patients in hospitals.

HPA added that the positive cases confirmed last night were from 3,549 samples (including repeated samples) tested for COVID-19. 

Caseload over the week

• April 25: 253 cases
• April 24: 218 cases
• April 23: 319 cases
• April 22: 164 cases
• April 21: 253 cases
• April 20: 162 cases
• April 19: 157 cases

71 COVID-19 patients have died from complications.

Vaccine drive

Health Protection Agency also announced that up until April 24, a total of 291,227 people in the Maldives have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 76,923 people had received their second dose.

According to the HPA, 1,213. received their first dose of the vaccine on April 24; 367 from Male' City and 846 from other residential islands. 

Out of the 76,923 individuals who had received both shots of the vaccine, 5,940 were vaccinated on April 24. HPA stated that 3,154 were from Male' City while 2,786 were from other residential islands in the nation.

The Maldives is using the Astrazeneca-Oxford University developed vaccine as well as the Pfizer vaccine and the Sinopharm vaccine for the national vaccine program.