Male' City Council has cancelled the annual night market over fears of the wide-spreading Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

While speaking to the press regarding the council's precautionary measures against an outbreak, council member Ahmed Niyaz announced that the night market has been cancelled.

Speaking at the press conference, Male' City Mayor Shifa disclosed that the council was given specific instructions and guidelines to follow by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), Ministry of Health, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other relevant authorities two days ago.

Shifa said that the council's first priority in the coming weeks will be to raise awareness about COVID19 among the council's employees. This will include increased efforts to maintain the cleanliness of all parks, said Shifa.

Shifa stated that the council will meet with operators of cafe's and small eateries to impart instructions shared by NDMA. The cafe's and eateries will be instructed to hand sanitisers from now onwards, said Shifa, adding that construction sites and migrant living quarters will also be monitored.

Shifa went onto note the importance of cleaning the carpets at mosques as another safety precaution and stated that all mosques with carpets have been identified. Further, she stated that the relevant parties have been informed of the risk of contagion posed by carpets.

The government has strengthened efforts to curb an outbreak of COVID19 in the country, with a travel clinic to be established in the capital soon. Flights from China, Iran and Saudi Arabia have been temporarily halted, as well as the entry of cruise ships.