Maldives recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19 from the capital city, Male', on Wednesday morning.
Health Protection Agency (HPA) announced that the patient is a Maldivian national who presented to the flu clinic in Male' after developing coronavirus-like symptoms. The agency confirmed that their test result came back positive.
The person is currently being transferred to an isolation facility for treatment and observation.
This marks the sixth Maldivian to test positive for the coronavirus, and the 21st confirmed case in Maldives. HPA recently reported that three locals have recovered so far.
COVID-19: HPA projects 98,000 cases in Maldives without control measures
The Edition
Prior to this development, HPA warned that the number of virus infections in Maldives was expected to reach over 98,000 in the event of a community spread, without any preventive and controlling measures in place. The projections include more than 46,600 cases in the capital region alone.
Thus, the agency has underscored the importance of maintaining and adhering to the preventive and safety measures enacted across the country, in order to minimise the incidence and spread of COVID-19 in Maldives.
Maldives now has 21 confirmed and five active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 16 recoveries.
The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected over two million people and claimed over 126,700 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 484,500 people have recovered.