A 67-year-old local man has passed away from Covid-19.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said that the man passed away at around 12:12pm and that he was admitted at the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) on Monday.

This is the 20th Covid-19 related death reported in the Maldives.

The island nation saw a surge in Covid-19 cases after the government began the third phase of lockdown easing, in July.

Health officials have expressed concern over the increase in patients requiring treatment at hospitals, as well as over the “increasing trend in infections in the elderly age group” and increase in cases with no links to previously confirmed cases.

There are currently over 140 Covid-19 patients admitted at hospitals.