Maldives Police Service (MPS) has revealed that 78 individuals were fined for violating the lockdown imposed by the government.

Officers patrolling the Malé City area warned of stricter measures against lockdown violators from Sunday onwards.

As such, violators are now being slapped with fines, without being issued first-time warnings.

Violators will be fined by MVR 1,000 and consecutively taken under arrest under Section 533 of the Penal Code of the Maldives, which defines actions that obstruct the administration of law enforcement or other government function.

Police will take legal action on those seen out of their designated zones.

Individuals who wish to go out for essential needs have been urged by the authority to access a web portal developed by authorities.

It was earlier revealed that one person from each household will be allowed to go out to purchase essentials once in every three days, for a duration of one hour, within their respective zones.

In light of this, authorities have urged the people to cooperate and adhere to regulations set by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) during these trying times.

Speaking during a press briefing on Sunday regarding the matter, Assistant Commissioner of Police Abdulla Fairoosh stressed that some of these violators are homeless individuals and most of them are expatriates.

The government has been providing temporary shelter for the homeless since the lockdown was imposed on Wednesday, after the first community transmission of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) was discovered.

The Greater Malé Region was locked down for a 24-hour period initially, however, it was extended to a fortnight on Friday.