Authorities have increased the operational hours for local cafes and restaurants.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) earlier restricted the number of hours cafes and restaurants are allowed to operate as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.
An announcement issued by the Director General of Public Health, Maimoona Aboobakuru said cafes will be allowed to operate until 10:30pm. The change was brought after a revision to the curfew hours imposed on the Greater Male’ Area, which was shortened from 11pm to 5am instead of 10pm to 5am. Cafes’ were instructed to close by 9:30pm when the previous 10pm curfew was in place.
The largest losses were faced by the service industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While all cafes’, restaurants and hotels were closed during the first weeks of the pandemic, the businesses were later allowed to operate with strict restrictions in place. A large number of cafes’ were temporarily shut down for violating HPA guidelines.
