President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has urged health officials to pay special attention to the increase in Covid-19 cases from outlying islands, as the confirmed cases from the capital region continue to reduce.

The president made the appeal during a visit to the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) on Thursday, where he inquired on its operations.

During the visit, Solih joined a meeting chaired by his vice, Faisal Naseem, and expressed his profound gratitude to all who have been working in Covid-19 response efforts, especially healthcare staff involved in HEOC operations.

Further noting that the number of Covid-19 cases detected from the Male’ region has been decreasing “gradually,” the president urged them “to take note of the increase in Covid-19 cases in the islands and give special consideration to the unfolding situation.”

Solih also toured the different workstations setup at Dharubaaruge and met with individuals working tirelessly to keep HEOC operations running smoothly, said the President’s Office.

While Maldives’ first Covid-19 cases were detected from resorts in March, a community transmission was confirmed in the capital in mid-April and a lockdown was announced in the region almost immediately. Lockdown easing began on May 29, and while the country entered the third phase in July, it came with a surge in daily Covid-19 cases.

While over 100 new daily cases were reported for weeks, the number has remained below this for the past four days.

This decrease in cases comes two week after authorities banned vehicle movement from 8pm to 5am in the capital. This is in addition to the 10pm curfew announced in August.