The island nation which was being praised for its efforts in COVID vaccine rollout, is now facing one of the fastest growing cases.

Maldives has reported a 115% rise in COVID cases in the last month with over 66,000 infections and 173 deaths.

On May 20th, the country reached its peak with 4058 infections per 100,000 people, becoming one of the worst-hit nations, surpassing even the United States, Brazil and India in their reporting of daily new cases.

Being one of the most sought-after travel destinations, the number of tourists visiting Maldives often exceeds its own population.

In 2020, the small island nation successfully managed close to 500,000 visitors with well coordinated efforts. However, the surge in cases this year has had Maldives enforcing travel restrictions, particularly for tourists from neighbouring countries including India. Over 403,304 tourists entered Maldives on May 5, 2021, 87,000 were from India.

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68% drop in daily vaccinations per million

Maldives began its vaccination drive in February, 2021 taking an equitable approach by opening vaccines to all groups.

The drive was initially successful, vaccinating 57.5% people with at least one dose and 31.4% people with both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, vaccine inoculations have slowed down since, with a 68% drop in daily vaccinations between 8th May and 30th May.

Daily inoculations are on the decline as the demand for vaccines exceeds supply, partly as a result of India’s ban on exporting vaccines. Maldives was the first country to receive the consignment of CoviShield from India in January, 2021. However, the second consignment is on hold owing to the rise in cases in India.

Male’s government has placed an order for AstraZeneca, to substitute for CoviShield.

Over three lakh Maldivians are currently yet to receive the second dose and over 60 thousand are yet to receive both doses.

(Note: These estimates are based on data gathered.)