Police took action on 137 lockdown violators on Friday

A total of 137 individuals breached the lockdown imposed across the Greater Malé Region, on Friday.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) revealed this via their daily publication of statistics for lockdown violations on Saturday morning.

The number of lockdown violations recorded on Friday is higher compared to the lockdown violations recorded the previous day, which was at 71.

While 68 individuals were fined on Thursday, the number increased to 128 on Friday.

A total of nine individuals were arrested on Friday whereas only three individuals were arrested the previous day.

This pushes the total number of individuals under police custody for violating the lockdown orders, to 219.

The total number of individuals fined for breaching the lockdown sits at 4,020 and the fines have reached over four million.

The government had issued 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. However, all grocery permits issued by the authority was reduced to once a week.

This was done as a restrictive measure to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Maldives, predicted by the authorities for the next few weeks.

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.

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.

The lockdown was initially set to end of Thursday, however, authorities pushed it to another fortnight on Wednesday.