President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, on Wednesday, announced a one-week extension on the closure of government offices as well as schools, universities and training centres.
The president made the announcement at the first press conference he held regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC).
The closure of all educational institutions across the country was among the first measures implemented by the state following the declaration of a state of public health emergency on March 12.
Initially, the government instructed all schools to close until March 22 and extended the period by an additional week on March 16. After the latest extension, schools are scheduled to reopen on April 5.
The cabinet ordered government offices to close from March 19 to 26 at a session held on March 17.
Maldives now has 13 confirmed and five active cases of COVID-19, with total eight recoveries. So far, only tourists and resort employees have confirmed infections in Maldives with no record of local transmissions within the country. The first Maldivian tested positive for the virus in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected more than 439,500 and claimed over 19,600 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 111,900 have recovered.
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