The government is to implement stricter measures and action following the surge in recent cases of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

This was revealed by Spokesperson of the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC), Dr. Nazla Rafeeq during Thursday night’s press briefing.

As such, the spokesperson revealed that stringent action will be taken against individuals caught outside on the streets between 11pm to 5am for non-essential purposes and that monitoring measures will be made stricter.

This will be implemented from Thursday onward, said Nazla.

The spokesperson stressed that the aim of the policy-level decision-makers is also to avoid a second lockdown.

During the lockdown ease plan being implemented in phases, going outside for non-essential purposes is prohibited between 11pm and 5am. Although Maldives Police Service (MPS) is active on the streets during the third phase the country is current in, to monitor those going out, officers are currently only issuing warnings.

However, action is to be taken from Thursday onwards.

A week earlier, the Chief Inspector of Police, Mohamed Shareef revealed that officers issued warnings to a total of 2,075 individuals caught on the streets during the given period, previously.

As the country adjusts to the new normal, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has set guidelines to be followed during the new normal.