The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has issued business permits to 2,207 ending individuals who had requested for police permits.

The authority revealed that the permits were issued to those among the unprocessed requests received through the permit portal, on Sunday.

Police revealed that they have begun issuing permits to pending requests and that they hope to process all applications that fit under the criteria set by the Ministry of Economic Development.

As authorities are in the process of easing the lockdown implemented across the Greater Malé Region in phases starting from Friday, police earlier revealed that they had received over 8,000 applications for permits to go outdoors for essentials.

During the easing process, residents of the Greater Malé Region are requested to seek permits if they wish to go out for essentials. This opportunity will be provided to three individuals from each household and each individual will get a two-hour period to run errands.

A number of individuals have since requested for permits and a lot of people have been raising concern over the delay in approval.

During the lockdown period, individuals were given a one-hour period to go out for essentials and the protocols to operate services at local shops have also been amended. As such, shops will be open from 9am to 9pm every day.