Maldives sees surge in positive cases as tally reaches 396

The total number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Maldives has reached 396.

The archipelago saw a sudden surge in positive cases on Thursday. The figure jumped from 280 to 396, with 116 new cases. This is the highest single-day jump to date.

The people who tested positive on Thursday include 95 foreigners and 17 locals. The foreigners include 61 Bangladeshi nationals, 32 Indian citizens, and 2 Nepali nationals.

Maldives saw its first COVID-19 related fatality on Wednesday night when an 83-year old, who was a primary contact of a positive patient, passed away after having breathing difficulties. She was pronounced dead at state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and her positive test results for COVID-19 came back after her demise. 17 people have recovered from the virus in the Maldives.

Since the number of people who test positive has been escalating rapidly, the government has extended the lockdown imposed on the Greater Male' area for an additional 14 days. The lockdown was initially imposed until the end of this month when the first case of local transmission was identified in Male' city on April 15. The virus has been detected in several islands since then.