A third mass public health inspection is to be launched in the greater Malé region, on Tuesday.

This was announced at Saturday’s Covid-19 press briefing at the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC), by the chief superintendent of police, Abdulla Shareef.

Noting that all businesses providing services to the public will be inspected this time without any exemptions, Shareef emphasized that those found to be violating Covid-19 safety guidelines will be closed and added that approval to resume services will not be given easily.

While the first inspection was conducted on July 12, a total of 190 businesses were checked and some were given instructions to strengthen safety measures. A second inspection was conducted from July 29 to August 8. 258 businesses were shutdown for violating Covid-19 guidelines after the second inspection.

The purpose of the inspection is to ensure 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.