Maldives Police Service disclosed that total 78 individuals were penalised for violating the ongoing lockdown in the greater Male' region over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a press conference held Sunday evening, the police declared they would forgo warnings and issue fines to lockdown violators henceforth. First-time violators will be fined MVR 1,000 as per Health Protection Agency (HPA)'s directive, while repeat offenders will be arrested and face legal action under the Penal Code.
Police again cautioned the general public to adhere to lockdown guidelines, in particular individuals who are issued permits to leave their residences. Noting that a number of individuals were caught misusing their permits, the police called on all to use them strictly for attending to essential needs.
To date, the police have issued over 3,400 permits for delivery services, with 279 issued on Sunday alone.
Amid the lockdown which is in place until May 1, the police have also decided to issue permits to a single resident from each household, to leave their residence once every three days for essential purposes. Male' is divided into 26 zones, based on the total resident population and the distribution of stores across the island, such that residents will have convenient access to essential supplies within their zones.
Maldives' first confirmed case of COVID-19 from the capital city, Male' was recorded on April 15, involving a local woman who presented to the flu clinic in Malé after developing coronavirus-like symptoms. At present, the country has not identified an index patient for the outbreak.
As of now, Maldives records 52 confirmed and 36 active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 16 recoveries. Of the above, a total of 31 positive cases were found in capital city Male', one of the most densely populated areas in the world. One of the cases is from Uligan, Haa Alif Atoll, the first local case outside of the capital.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected over 2.4 million people and claimed over 165,000 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 617,000 people have recovered.
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