The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has made the use of masks when outside mandatory. The decision to make the use of masks mandatory was made during a meeting between President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the National Taskforce earlier on Thursday.
During the Health Emergency Operation Centre, HEOC’s press briefing held Thursday night, the centre’s Spokesperson Dr. Nazla Rafeeq the use of masks when outside will be mandatory from Thursday night onwards, and those who fail to wear masks will be stopped by the police. Effective from Saturday, a fine of MVR 1,000 will be imposed on those who fail to wear masks, said Dr. Nazla.
The doctor further advised against being outside between 11pm and 5am for non-essential purposes. The government will be taking more steps to ensure the public complies with the instruction, said the doctor.
The Maldives has recorded 3,719 cases of COVID-19 and 16 deaths to date. The number of cases have been increasing drastically over the past week.
