Sri Lankan dies of COVID-19 in Maldives, death toll rises to 278

A Sri Lankan has died of COVID-19 in the Maldives.

Health Protection Agency (HPA) said that a 73-year-old Sri Lankan man being treated at Hulhumale’ Medical Facility (HMF) has passed away at 3:04am last night.

His death increases the number of COVID-19 fatalities in the Maldives to 278.

The last COVID-19 death recorded in the Maldives prior to this was yesterday; a 74-year-old Maldivian man who was also being treated at HMF.

Maldives is currently battling a surge in COVID-19 cases, fueled by the new and more contagious omicron variant. The number of new cases have been above 2,000 per day for over a week.

Within the last 24 hours, HPA announced 2,180 additional cases of COVID-19, increasing confirmed cases in Maldives to 141,060.     

Meanwhile, 2,206 additional COVID-19 patients were confirmed to have made full recoveries over the last 24 hours, increasing total recoveries to 123,027.    

With the new developments, Maldives now has 17,743 active cases.      

There are 63 patients in hospitals.