Daily coronavirus cases: Bangladeshi migrants again surpass locals in Maldives

The tally of Bangladeshi migrants in the Maldives testing positive for Covid-19 in a single day has again crossed the number of Maldivian nationals who contracted the disease.

Maldives recorded their highest number of cases of Covid-19 on Thursday. Of the 179 cases reported, 136, almost 76%, of them were Bangladeshi migrant workers with work permits.

As of 1:41am (Maldivian time), 252 Bangladeshis got infected with the coronavirus – which is 53.85% of 468, the total number of cases reported in the Maldives. Whereas, 145 Maldivians have tested positive for the virus, which is 30.98% of the total number of cases reported in the island territory.

The rest of the infected nationals are -- 49 Indian, 11 Italian, three Pakistani, two Nepalese and Sri Lankan each, and one Turkish, German, South African and British each.

Source: Ministry of Health, the Maldives

The first positive case of a Bangladeshi migrant was confirmed on April 17, as the 32-year-old individual directly came into contact with an infected Maldivian.

However, the health authorities of the Indian Ocean archipelago have revised their infection list from the data shown on April 25, which said the first Bangladeshi to be infected was on April 18.

Of the infected Bangladeshi migrants, all but one are males (251 males, one female) and none have recovered yet.

17 individuals have recovered till date -- four Maldivians, nine Italians, and four other nationals, one each, from Turkey, Germany, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

Bangladeshi Covid-19 cases in the Maldives

Source: Health Protection Agency Maldives - Covid-19, Ministry of Health

Coronavirus situation in the Maldives

Health Minister Abdulla Ameen announced on Thursday that the country reported its first death of an 82-year-old woman on the previous day in the capital city, Male.

Since April 16, Maldives has seen a steady rise in the curve of infected cases, when only 28 cases were reported. 

The country reported its first two cases of coronavirus, both caused by local transportation: one Turkish female and another South African male, on March 7.

Of the infected, 407 are males, mostly in the age bracket of 31-40 years. 

Females between the ages of 41-50, and 21-30, are the ones most exposed to the virus as their count (14 in each range) is highest on the list. 

On April 15, a Bangladesh Navy ship sent more than 100 tons of food, medicines, and medical equipment as assistance to the Maldives in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Home to more than 500,000 people (excluding migrants), the Maldives has around 100,000 foreigners, mostly from Bangladesh, according to the Human Rights Watch. 

The rights watchdog in late March warned that Bangladeshi migrants were at “added risk” from Covid-19.