President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced his decision to lift the state of public health emergency in force since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After consulting with public health experts, President Solih made the announcement in a televised address to the nation, lifting the state of public health emergency declared two years ago on March 12, 2020. Following the lifting of the public health emergency, the president said the Ministry of Health would announce the way forward, including measures to monitor and keep the spread of COVID-19 in check. The ministry would also draw up and implement a national strategy and action plan as part of its COVID-19 response.
Since COVID-19 was first detected in the Maldives in March 2020, over 174,000 cases have been reported across the country and 297 people have died from the disease.