Action was taken on a total of 143 individuals for violating the Greater Malé Region lockdown on Monday.

This was revealed by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) in their daily publication of statistics for lockdown violations, on Tuesday morning.

As such, a total of 137 individuals were fined on Monday, 20 less compared to the number of individuals fined on Sunday, 157.

Further, six individuals were arrested on Monday, whereas seven were arrested on Sunday.

This pushes the total number of individuals under police custody for violating the lockdown orders, to 193.

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.

The authority has been publicizing their daily statistics for action taken on lockdown violators since the lockdown was imposed across the Greater Malé Region on April 15 after the first case of community transmission of the Covid-19 pandemic was discovered.

The lockdown will remain in effect 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.

During a press briefing on Sunday evening, the Minister of Home Affaris stressed that the measures in place currently, are required for the safety of the people and that the upcoming days will be more difficult and the measures taken during this time will require more support and cooperation from the people.

Authorities have continuously been pushing the public to obey guidelines set by the HPA for the safety and security of the community, 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.