Political parties must operate per HPA guidelines: EC Pres.

President of the Elections Commission (EC) Ahmed Shareef has declared that all political parties in the Maldives must operate according to guidelines as set forth by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

EC President made the remarks in a tweet posted on Friday night, where he called for all political parties active in the Maldives to follow the health and safety guidelines set forth by HPA, stating that political parties that fail to do so must be held accountable.

While the EC President has made such strict remarks, Friday saw the opposition PPM-PNC coalition hold protests in Male' City, sans social distancing measures and effective masking in clear violation of the health and safety regulations determined by HPA.

Spokesperson for the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) Dr. Nazla Rafeeq revealed on Friday that the Maldives' Covid-19 outlook had worsened to a critical state, with lack of trained professionals and available resources presented as a hard limit for the governments capacity to care for those with Covid-19. Dr. Nazla has implored members of the public to be cautious in following social distancing measures and engage in effective masking while out in public to control the spread of Covid-19.

The number of new cases of Covid-19 being reported in the Maldives have been above 100 for nearly every day since 24 January, and health authorities have sounded the alarm as the caseload continues to increase worryingly in the nation's congested capital. As of now, a curfew is in effect across the cities of Male', Addu and Fuvahmulah as authorities clamp down on restrictions in order to limit transmission of Covid-19.