The National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), on Thursday, announced that schools, universities, cafe's and restaurants in the capital city of Male' will be allowed to reopen on July 1.
Speaking at a press conference held at NEOC, Assistant Director at the Ministry of Health Aiminath Shaina Abdulla stated that cafe's and restaurants would only be issued clearance to commence operation if they are in compliance with regulations set by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and other relevant bodies.
HPA revealed that government offices and mosques would also be permitted to open in July during which Maldives is also scheduled to reopen its borders for tourism.
In addition to cafe's and restaurants, other business establishments such as salons and gyms will be permitted from July onwards.
Initially implemented on April 15, lockdown measures in the capital city of Male' disrupted the work of several ministerial and institutional offices located in the region. Following several extensions, President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih announced that lockdown measures would be gradually eased following May 28.
As one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Maldives' capital Malé recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases in the first weeks following the first confirmed local transmission on April 15. However, the number of recoveries recorded daily are now consistently higher than newly confirmed cases.
Maldives presently records a total of 1,977 confirmed cases, out of which 814 are active cases of COVID-19. The country records 1,153 recoveries and eight deaths.
WHO has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 7.6 million people and claimed over 424,300 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, 3.8 million people have recovered.
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