The face mask mandate that came into effect across the Maldives in February 2021, has been dissolved.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed this via a press conference on Sunday evening, where the Director General of Public Health Maimoona Aboobakuru and Head of Communicable Diseases Division of HPA, Dr. Fathmath Nazla Rafeeq announced a number of eases to tightened health and safety restrictions in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19 across the island nation.

This came not long after President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced that the state of public health emergency declared nationwide on 12 March 2020, has been dissolved starting 13 March 2022.

During the presser, Dr. Nazla revealed that even though face masks are no longer mandatory, the public will be required to continue the use of face masks where healthcare services are being provided, including staff, patients and visitors.

Further, the residents of islands or regions where the Covid-19 positivity rate is higher than 20 percent, are still required to use face masks.

The public health authority went on to encourage the public to continue the use of face masks if they are considered high risk or have high risk individuals in their circle, when out in public, if they exhibit symptoms, if they attend gatherings or events with large crowds of people, while using public transport vehicles like taxis, busses and ferries as well as while attending indoor activities and other places where public services are provided.

The changes were brought following thorough analysis and monitoring the situation revolving around the pandemic, currently.

As such, some of the key points taken into consideration when revoking the state of public health emergency, a little over two years since it was imposed, include the fact that the Covid-19 situation in most islands and regions is improving as well as the authorities’ success in maintaining hospitalization and death rates at a lower rate.

Further, HPA revealed that a majority of the population has complete a primary series vaccination, as booster dose administration continues to increase.

It was also revealed that Covid-19 response will continue according to the ‘Covid-19 Strategy’ and measures will be taken according to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, even though the public health emergency has been revoked.

The President made the decision to make wearing face masks in public spaces, mandatory in July 2020, in order to help authorities’ control and contain the spread of the virus.

As such, everyone living in inhabited islands of the Maldives were required to effectively wear masks when out in public effective 7 February 2021. Further, the authorities also imposed fines on everyone who breached the face mask mandate.