The lockdown announced in southernmost Addu City has been lifted.

A lockdown was announced in the city on Saturday after a patient that was transferred to Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) from Addu Equatorial Hospital tested positive for Covid-19. However, the patient is now confirmed negative to the virus, following two additional tests.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has since issued a notice, stating that there is no cause to maintain the lockdown following the developments in the case. It further ordered to lift the measures imposed, following the lockdown.

Addu City’s Mayor Abdulla Shodhiq said that the measures placed prior to the lockdown “will still remain”. This includes a ban on non-essential activity.

While contact tracing was conducted after the patient tested positive and samples of close contacts were taken for testing, they came back negative.