Male, Sep 21 (IANS): Health officials in the Maldives said on Monday that island-nation has made progress in controlling the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as the number of positive cases significantly dropped in recent days.
Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) member Ahmed Shaheed said that the number of individuals testing positive dropped from 18 to 20 per cent in August to 13 per cent in the last two weeks, while the occupancy of hospital beds has also decreased, reports Xinhua news agency.
Shaheed added that the number of Covid-19 cases not linked to existing clusters remained at 30 to 35 per cent of all in the last two weeks and that the time taken to double has increased.
He noted that although these were positive developments but it was too early to ease restrictions.
Meanwhile, data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed that 75 new cases were detected in the Maldives on Sunday, comprising 22 locals and 53 foreigners.
The country now has 1,424 active cases spreading across 24 inhabited islands and in 26 resorts.
A total of 9,724 cases have been confirmed in Maldives, out of which 8,261 have fully recovered and 34 have died.