Ministry of Health has extended the State of Public Health Emergency in the Maldives for another month.
The health ministry said the State of Public Health Emergency imposed in the country last year has been extended until May 4. A circular signed by Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem stated the decision to extend the State of Public Health Emergency was made to ensure the spread of COVID-19 is contained in the Maldives, noting the country is still in risk of another outbreak. The health minister has instructed Director General of Public Health Maimoona Abubakur to continue implementing the measures required to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the Maldives.
The Maldives initially declared a State of Public Health Emergency on March 12 last year. The State of Public Health Emergency has been extended 13 times since then.
The first case of COVID-19 in the Maldives was detected from a resort on March 7 last year. However, with the detection of the first case in Male' City on April 15 last year, authorities declared the Greater Male' Region was facing a community spread situation and began implementing measures to contain COVID-19.
Despite extension of the State of Public Health Emergency, Health Protection Agency (HPA) has recently eased several restrictive measures imposed in the Greater Male' Region.