Maldives Police Service (MPS) has arrested a Maldivian man for unauthorized entry into capital Malé City’s suburbs, Hulhumalé and returning to Rasdhoo island in Alif Alif atoll without the required authorization.

Police revealed that the man had gotten off a fishing boat that arrived in the capital region to weigh their catch, and spent the night with his family in Hulhumalé before leaving to Rasdhoo the next day.

The man is to have returned to the island without the authorization from the island’s Covid-19 task force or the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

He was arrested on Wednesday and the case is under further investigation.

Although fishing vessels can dock in islands to weigh their catch, individuals onboard are not allowed to enter the island in accordance with the measures implemented by the HPA in order to contain and control the spread of Covid-19 in the Maldives.

The Greater Malé Region was locked down on April 15 and travel between all inhabited islands has also been banned since then.

While several measures are being implemented to curb the spread of the pandemic, authorities fear that the worst is yet to come. As such, they have stated that the next two weeks will be worse and caution must be practiced.