A decision to extend the State of Health Emergency will be finalized by Sunday, says Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen.

The minister made the statement in response to a question by RaajjeMV during Thursday night's press briefing at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC). He stated that discussions on the extension are underway, adding that a survey is ongoing to study the risk of community spread in the case of an outbreak.

According to the minister, the emergency was declared in order to remove bureaucratic obstacles and swiftly impose necessary public health measures. The Maldives declared a 30-day state of health emergency on March 12th. This is the first time in Maldivian history that such a declaration has been imposed.

The state of health emergency was declared by the Director-General of Public Health, Maimoona Aboobakuru under the powers granted to her by article 33 of the public health act. The emergency was imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the Maldives.