President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has decided to extend the closure of all government offices, schools, colleges and universities for another week as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools, government offices and educations institutions remained closed for the past three weeks following the detection of COVID-19 cases in the Maldives.
The decision to extend the closure was announced following the advice from the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) in respect to the rapid global spread of COVID-19 and to mitigate the possibility of such rapid spread in the Maldives. According to the President's Office, the President further instructed all institutions to continue utilising the minimum number of staff for any urgent tasks and to encourage all staff who are able to work from home to do so to ensure the timely delivery of crucial services.
Noting that the most imperative step to reduce the risk of community spread is to practise social distancing, President Solih beseeched all Maldivians to remain within their homes, save for emergencies and necessities, and to heed the advice of health service professionals, said the President's Office.
19 cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Maldives thus far, out of which 4 are locals.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih visiting COVID-19 task force venue
