President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced Wednesday that all government offices and educational institutions will be closed for a fourth week due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The president made the decision based on the counsel of National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC)'s technical advisory group, as a precaution against the chance of coronavirus spreading in Maldives.
However, President Solih directed institutions to make arrangements for staff to work from home, or to allow the minimum amount of the workforce to return to offices in order to provide necessary services. The president also urged government offices to enable online services where possible.
He requested the public to adhere to isolation and social distancing measures as they were the most vital in curbing the spread of COVID-19, and to refrain from leaving home unless absolutely necessary.
Presently, Maldives has 19 confirmed and six active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 13 recoveries. While there are two confirmed cases of Maldivians, no local-to-local transmissions have been recorded.
The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected over 1,436,800 people and claimed over 82,400 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 303, 700 people have recovered.
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