Maldives Police Service (MPS) has permitted a total of 2,997 residents of the Maldives capital, Malé City stranded in outlying islands, to return.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the authority revealed that over 2,000 individuals have been permitted to return to the capital between April 24 and May 15.

According to police statistics, they received the highest number of requests for approval on May 7 where 277 requests were received.

Further, it has been revealed that MPS received 1,923 requests through mail, which is 64% and 1,074 through portal, which is 36% of the requests.

While the lockdown was imposed across the region on April 15 after the discovery of the first-ever Covid-19 community transmission, it has been extended until May 28. Due to this reason, several Malé residents are stuck in outlying islands while island residents are similarly stranded in the capital after travelling to the capital for several purposes including medical.

The government has since been providing temporary shelter and food for a number of these individuals.