Health Protection Agency (HPA) announced late Tuesday that the cabinet extended the closure of government institutions, schools colleges and universities for another week as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19.
During a meeting held at President's Office on Tuesday afternoon, cabinet members decided that work-from-home solutions will be arranged for necessary tasks, despite government offices being shut down.
Moreover, if the need arises, offices will be opened for a period of time with minimal staff, in order to provide emergency services or complete compulsory work.
In addition to closing down institutions and urging the public to self-isolate, Director General of Public Health has issued various orders under the state of public health emergency declared on March 12.
The country has closed operations of all guesthouses and city hotels and restricted travel between resorts, liveaboards and inhabited islands, as well as banning incoming travel originating from seriously affected countries.
Maldives, as with most countries, has also moved to quarantine areas with suspected cases, and isolate suspected and confirmed cases alike.
The country now records 18 confirmed and five active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 13 recoveries. While there are two confirmed cases of Maldivians, no local to local transmissions are recorded. The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected over 803,707 people and claimed over 39,070 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 172,434 people have recovered.
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