Male’ City Mayor, Sifa Muhammad has warned that a full lockdown may need to be imposed in the capital if the public continues to flout mandatory mask-wearing rules.
Over 5,000 cases of COVID-19 has been recorded in the Maldives thus far. While the country imposed strict measures in Male’ after the first case of community spread was detected earlier in April, the measures have now been lifted. The relaxation of measures caused the number of daily cases to increase significantly over the past two weeks. Authorities have tightened measures by introducing a night-time curfew, and made the use of masks when outside mandatory. A fine of MVR 1000 is imposed for violations. While 1356 people have been given warning for failure to wear masks, 278 pople have been fined to date.
In a tweet posted on Sunday night, Mayor Sifa said a large number of people continue to disregard the rules currently in place. She noted that many individuals linger around restaurants and cafes after receiving their takeaway orders from the businesses. She further reminded the public not to wait around in crowds on street corners, and urged the public to continue using masks.
