Health Emergency Operation Centre (HEOC) has revealed 246 establishments in the Greater Male' Region were closed for violating safety measures announced by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
Speaking at a press conference, Spokesperson of the HEOC Dr. Nazla Rafeeq said all business establishments in the Greater Male' Region comprising of Male', Hulhumale' and Thilafushi have been inspected at least once as of August 8. A total of 136 establishments were inspected on August 8 which included 37 food outlets, 11 salons and 88 shops. Nine establishments including a food outlet, three salons and five shops were closed on August 8, while 16 business establishments were approved to reopen after the violations were addressed.
At the press conference, Dr. Nazla revealed in total 1,546 business establishments were inspected since the launch of the inspection programme, of which 246 establishments were closed for violating safety measures. She stated one of the highlights of the inspection was that the number of establishments abiding the safety measures increased in the past few days compared to the beginning of the inspection. In this regard, she noted about 50% of the establishments inspected during the first two days of the inspection had to be closed for violating safety measures.
Further, the spokesperson stated the programme in the Greater Male' Region has been halted as all establishments have undergone an inspection at least once. However, she said the inspection will resume in the coming days.
HPA launched an inspection programme to ensure public places such as cafes, restaurants, local markets, salons and gyms are implementing the COVID-19 control measures in accordance to the guidelines issued by HPA. The inspection was carried out in collaboration with Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA), Ministry of Economic Development, Male' City Council, Waste Management Corporation Limited (WAMCO), Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC).