The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has arrested over 300 individuals in connection to lockdown violations thus far.
The total of individuals taken into police custody for breaching the lockdown order is currently at 313, out of which 277 are from Malé, 33 from Hulhumalé and three from Villimalé.
The authority revealed via its daily publication of lockdown violations on Wednesday morning that the number of lockdown violations recorded on Tuesday increased in comparison to the 200 lockdown violations reported the previous day.
As such, out of the 229 lockdown violations recorded on Tuesday, 210 were fined and 19 were taken into police custody.
Police officers patrolling the streets of the Greater Malé Region imposed fines on 210 individuals on Tuesday, 199 from Malé, 10 from Hulhumalé and one from Villimalé.
With this, the total number of fines imposed until now reaches 5,657 out of which 4,923 are from Malé, 630 from Hulhumalé and 104 from Villimalé.
Out of the 19 arrests made yesterday, 16 were from Malé and three were from Hulhumalé, no arrests were made in Villimalé.
Under the orders of the Director General of Public Health, first time violators of the lockdown will be slapped with MVR 1,000 fines and repeat offenders will be arrested under Article 533 (a) of the Penal Code.
Since the Maldives capital Malé City was locked down on April 15 following the detection of the first ever Covid-19 community transmission, police had been issuing daily permits for individuals to go out for essential supplies. However, individuals are now limited from going out for essentials, to once a week.
The lockdown was initially set to end on May 14, however, authorities pushed it to another fortnight and the lockdown will remain in effect until May 28.
Authorities have continuously been pushing the public to obey guidelines set by the Health Protection Agency (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.
