Wednesday roundup: 43 new coronavirus infections, 10 recoveries

National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) announced health authorities confirmed 43 new cases of the new coronavirus and 10 recoveries on Wednesday.

The 43 new cases increased total coronavirus cases in the country to 1,481.

Health Protection Agency (HPA) had initially announced 19 new coronavirus cases; 13 Bangladeshis, four Maldivians, one Indian and one Nepali - in an announcement via its official Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon.

At a NEOC press briefing on Wednesday night, HPA epidemiologist Dr. Nazla Rafeeq announced the agency later confirmed 24 more new cases, increasing total new cases to 43.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus patients to recover rose to 242.

Dr. Nazla also announced that the health authorities have collected 2,038 samples for tests. It includes 787 samples collected within the last 24-hours.

The results are pending on 207 samples.

The populous Maldivian capital Male’ City has been under lockdown since April 15, when the city had identified its first coronavirus case. The lockdown is set to expire this Thursday, and the Maldivian government has announced plans to ease the lockdown on the capital in phases.

Some easements include allowing permits for three people per household to step outside for two hours. Children and elderly will be allowed to step outside during fixed hours. The elderly can begin stepping outside between 5 am to 8 am as early as Friday, but children will not be allowed out until the second week of the first phase, which will begin on June 10.

Other easements include increasing banking says, allowing bakeries, supermarkets and more convenient stores to open.

The 43 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday followed the same number of new cases on Tuesday.

HPA has stated that 50 cases per day is low enough to ease the lockdown.

Health Minister Abdulla Ameen said on Wednesday that the government may have to strengthen its measures if cases increase exponentially in the first phase.

The easement is designed to promote economic activity and allow people to enjoy a measure of normalcy. Ameen warned the decision to ease the lockdown did not mean the end of the pandemic, and that the threat of the pandemic remained prevalent.

He urged the people to continue to be vigilant.

With the recovery of 242 patients and the death of five, Maldives currently has 1,232 active coronavirus cases.