Un until Tuesday night, the Maldives Police Service (MPS) had permitted a total of 3,016 residents of the Maldives capital, Malé City stranded in outlying islands, to return.

In a statement issued on Tuesday night via Twitter, the authority revealed that over 3,000 individuals have been permitted to return to the capital between April 24 and May 19.

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

MPS received 1,825 requests through mail, which is 61% and 1,191 through portal, which is 39% of the requests.

Authorities have urged individuals who wish to travel to the capital to use the police permitportalto apply or forward their request viae-mail. They are required to explain their situation and the importance of returning to Malé when applying for permits.

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.