A Maldivian holidaying in Dubai has died while battling COVID-19 illness.
The man had now been identified as 38-year-old Abdullah Iyad Ahmed who works for Housing Development Corporation HDC.
HDC had confirmed to 'The Press' that Iyad had started working at the corporation in 2017 and had been working as a Senior Technical Officer in the corporation. HDC added he had traveled to Dubai for vacation.
This is the first time a Maldivian had died from COVID-19 while traveling abroad.
In the Maldives 54 individuals have succumbed to the pandemic since April of 2020 with mostly the elderly losing the battle against the fast-spreading pandemic.
A total of 47 Maldivians and 7 foreigners have died from COVID-19 in the country while the total number of cases reported in the Maldives has now hit 16,656.
The latest update by the Health Protection Agency HPA shows that there are currently 2039 active cases of COVID-19 in the country and that 207 COVID-19 patients are now hospitalized for further treatment.
HPA had reported a dramatic increase in COVID cases last month and this had prompted authorities to tighten the measures taken against the pandemic. This includes making it mandatory to wear face masks in public in all the inhabited islands of the country starting today.
