Guidelines set for gov't offices to follow upon reopening on Sunday
Civil servants have also been urged to refrain from going outdoors unless necessary
The President\'s Office
Guidelines to be followed upon the reopening of government offices and state institutions on Sunday, have been publicized.
The government announced the decision to close all state institutions and offices for this week, on Tuesday. The decision was made in light of the ever-changing situation of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and comes amid an alarming increase in cases, by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday.
The guidelines are specialized for state offices operating in islands and region with active cases of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As such, the number of employees reporting to the workplace is to be reduced to a minimum and arrangements are to be made by office managements so that employees can work from home.
Staff members are to divided into teams to operate on a weekly basis when reporting to work, at home or at the workplace.
Services at the offices are to be distributed among employees, based on the number of them who can be active as well as depending on resources.
Employees at state institutions and government offices have been urged to complete their tasks within the official working hours and offices are to close their doors after 4pm.
After the official working hours end at 2pm, government offices are urged not to remain open unless working hours are carried out in shifts.
Services that may be operated online are urged to be carried out through online methods and platforms.
All government offices are to implement the required safety and precautionary measures against the spread of the virus such as social distancing, use of face masks and others recommended by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
Further, the offices are urged to introduce cost-cutting measures such as reduction of paper used for printing, and opt for digital means to carry out services.
Civil servants have also been urged to refrain from going outdoors unless necessary.
Authorities had closed government offices and institutions on March 19 amid the increasing Covid-19 fears, for a week. This was extended over months.
In late May, the government reopened state institutions that provide essential services for the people, partially.
On July 5, the government officially reopened state institutions, under a set of safety and health measures required to be adapted upon the reopening of government offices.
Following the reopening of government offices, the country observed an alarming increase in cases of recent and the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) revealed that most of the cases being reported of recent are from government offices.
