Changes brought to government office operations after Covid-19 spike

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has advised government offices and civil servants to practice caution in light of the spike in Covid-19 cases, as changes were announced to government operations to prevent transmission of the virus.

As the number of new cases of Covid-19 being reported daily continue to rise sharply, Tuesday saw the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) confirm that 30 percent of new cases now being reported corresponded to a new Covid-19 variant, which has an increased rate of transmission. In light of this, a curfew has been implemented in the Greater Male' area as other Covid-19 safety measures are strengthened across the nation.

An official directive released by the President Office on Tuesday states that all civil servants stationed in islands where Covid-19 cases have been discovered will be encouraged to work from home until further notice. The statement also specifies that those employees who need to be physically present in offices to perform essential tasks will do so based on the directive of government ministers or those assigned to oversee such cases.

Further, the directive instructs offices and agencies to close by 2pm on working days, and advises against staff working past 4pm. Additionally, the President's Office has urged all government offices and institutions to begin employing online resources to ensure services continue uninterrupted, and encourages operations to be spread across different days of the week.

The directive publicized by the President's Office also requires all civil service staff to be vigilant in following the Covid-19 health and safety regulations as set forth by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) under the guidance of the Health Protection Agency (HPA), to practice strict sanitization and hygiene in offices, in addition to observing social distancing and wearing masks effectively within the work environment.