Authorities have begun another mass public health inspection in the capital, following the record number of Covid-19 cases confirmed on Tuesday.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) via Twitter said that a follow-up inspection will be initiated on Wednesday, adding that they will be “inspecting adherence to Covid-19 safety guidelines of cafés, restaurants, gyms and fitness centers, salons and markets”.
All these places were opened for services during the third phase of lockdown easing, which began on July 1.
HPA added that those that are found to have violated the guidelines will be “shut-down”.
The inspection work is being carried out together with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Malé City council, Ministry of Economic Development, Maldives Police Service, Maldivian Red Crescent (MRC), Housing Development Corporation and Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO).
According to the deputy mayor of the Malé City Council, a total of 1,475 public spaces were checked during the first mass public health inspection conducted earlier this month.
The announcement of a second health inspection comes shortly after the confirmation of 137 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours. This included a record number of locals testing positive for the infection in a single day, at 92.
The cases confirmed on Tuesday also include 31 Bangladeshis, nine Indian nationals, four Sri Lankans and a Filipino national. While this pushes the country’s total case count to 3,506, there are currently 929 active Covid-19 cases with 2,547 recoveries reported as well.