Male' City will not go into lockdown: Spokesperson Mabrook

Spokesperson for the President's Office Mabrook Azeez has clarified that Male' City will not be going into lockdown following media speculation on Friday.

In addressing reports that Male' City would be placed under lockdown on Tuesday, Spokesperson Mabrook stated that they had not made a decision on initiating lockdown in the nation's capital at this time. Mabrook added that authorities had not engaged in specific discussions about a lockdown, but assured that the situation was being appraised broadly every night. He stated that discussions were underway on how existing Covid-19 health and safety measures could be altered based on the situation of the pandemic in Maldives.

Maldives reported 120 Covid-19 deaths on Friday, with four deaths confirmed over the span of 24 hours and 26 deaths reported in the past week alone. On Wednesday, the Maldives reported the highest number of Covid-19 fatalities in a single day with 7 deaths.

There are currently 21,079 active cases of Covid-19 in Maldives, with 286 patients receiving in hospital care for the infection across the country.

Pandemic safety measures have been strengthened across the Maldives once more in light of the surge in Covid-19 cases observed this past month. The Maldivian government and HPA have also urged civil servants as well as those employed in private companies to work from home in order to slow the spread. Health authorities had earlier revealed discussions were underway on the possibilities of imposing a second lockdown in Male' with 60 islands placed under monitoring by Wednesday's end.

Maldives has been in a state of public health emergency for over a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the last extension of measures set to expire on June 3.