Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated that imposing a second lockdown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic would not be the right move for the country.
The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has increased over the past few days, with the archipelago recording its highest daily spike on Sunday. While 215 individuals tested positive on Sunday, the tally has now increased to 4,164. 18 deaths have been recorded thus far, with the most recent deaths occurring over the past 48 hours.
In a tweet published on Monday, President Solih said the spread of the virus can be controlled if preventive measures such as wearing masks are practiced by the public. The president appealed to the citizens to follow the instructions given by the Health Protection Agency, HPA and that the collective cooperation of all is necessary to control the spread. He further warned that imposing a second lockdown would not be a wise move.
The Maldives closed its borders on March 27 and later imposed a lockdown on the Greater Male’ are after the first case of community spread was identified in the capital in April. While the government began lifting restrictive measures over phases, the relaxation of measures led to a rapid increase in positive cases.
