The Maldives has recorded more than 28,000 cases of COVID-19 as the daily reported cases surge after a fall in numbers earlier this month.
Last night, Health Protection Agency HPA reported an additional 328 new cases of the pandemic here in the Maldives with 167 cases confirmed from the Greater Male' Area.
The Agency further reported that 127 new cases were recorded from inhabited islands across the country and that 10 more were reported from operational resorts while 24 COVID cases were confirmed from industrial islands and islands used for other purposes.
Monday's new cases have taken the total number of COVID-19 cases reported in the Island Nation to a staggering 28,202.
The recent surge in new cases has also increased the number of active cases of COVID-19 in the country to 3,701 with 126 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized for further treatment.
The country has recorded 24,421 recoveries.
The devastating COVID-19 pandemic has killed 71 individuals in the Maldives and this includes 64 locals and 7 foreigners.
Most of the locals who have succumbed to the pandemic include elderly individuals with underlying health conditions but few middle-aged individuals have also passed away due to the fast-spreading illness.
The week-old surge in new cases comes amid news that neighboring India and Sri Lanka are now battling new variants of the COVID-19 virus which experts say are more infectious.
In India, new cases and COVID deaths are mounting at a fast pace with authorities scrambling to deal with a record-breaking surge of the illness.
Earlier this week, the Maldives tightened its control over visitors from India and these measures go into effect today.
This includes asking travelers from India to present a negative PCR test, no older than 96-hours, upon arrival into the Maldives and this includes individuals who have transited in India for more than 24 hours and individuals who have received the COVID vaccines.
Authorities in the Maldives have also banned travelers from India from staying at guesthouses and hotels located in-land on the islands across the Maldives.
