Gov't develops regulations to be followed during State of Public Health Emergency

The government of Maldives has developed a set of regulations to be followed in the ongoing State of Public Health Emergency.

The regulations were published in the government gazette and comes under Article 94 of the Public Health Protection Act of the Maldives, which states that the minister has the authority to make regulations in addition to the power to develop regulations under specific parts of the act. Several powers have been vested in the Director General, under these regulations.

As such, the purpose of establishing the regulation was to implement all the required precautionary measures for the protection of the people should a State of Public Health Emergency arise and also stipulates the actions that are required to be followed.

The minister has the power to form a Technical Advisory Committee to provide assistance to the Director General of Public Health, under these guidelines.

As such, the guidelines highlight the protocols need to be followed in the procedure of quarantining individuals as well as vaccinating them.

Further, it bans social gatherings, visiting specific places as well as travel between specific regions as well as controlling the movement within islands.

While Article 15 of the act states that “If a doctor examines a patient with communicable disease upon orders of director general under 12 or 14 of the act the doctor hospital must send information on nature type and extent of disease and what was done for treatment to the director general”, the guideline states that collecting samples from or examining the person against their will not be considered as an obstruction to the person’s freedom.

In addition, the Director General also has the power to enter households or other public places without a court under, during the State of Public Health Emergency and even allow entry to such places for others.

Within three months of implementation, a “National Health Emergency Operation” plan is required to be formulated and the authorities are also required to allocate a public for the State of Public Health Emergency, every year.

The State of Public Health Emergency has been in effect from March 12 onward and Maldives has seen 1,850 Covid-19 cases thus far, out of which 644 patients have recovered and seven have died.