Action was taken on 179 individuals for breaching the lockdown imposed across the Greater Malé Region on Thursday alone.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) revealed that nine individuals were arrested and 170 individuals were fined on Thursday for violating the lockdown orders.

This pushes the total of individuals arrested for breaching the lockdown, to 162 up until Friday.

Under the orders of the Director General of Public Health, violators of the lockdown will be slapped with MVR 1,000 fines the first time round and repeat offenders will be arrested under Article 533 (a) of the Penal Code.

Malé City was placed under lockdown on April 15 after the discovery of the first case of community transmission of the Covid-19 pandemic and it has since been extended until May 14.

The government has been issuing permits to go outdoors for essentials every day since the lockdown was imposed, allowing one individual from each household to go out for essential supplies.

Stressing that the entire community is put at risk of contracting the virus due to a number of individuals who do not follow instructions set by the authorities for the safety of the community, the authorities have continuously been pushing the public to obey guidelines set by the HPA for the greater good of all.