The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Thursday, announced that a mass inspection will be launched to confirm whether offices and service providers are adhering to the agency's safety guidelines, introduced in an attempt to curb the COVID-19 outbreak in Maldives.
According to HPA, government offices, private companies, transport service providers and general service providers will be subject to assessments, starting from Sunday.
If the inspection reveals that an institution is violating HPA's guidelines, it will be shut down for a period of 48 hours. If violations are further repeated, HPA will close it down for 72 hours and impose a fine of MVR 1,000.
Failure to follow guidelines a third time will result in a temporary shutdown of five days, with another MVR 1,000 fine.
The Health Protection Agency fined certain establishments that for violating the agency's guidelines, prior to announcing the inspection as well.
During last month, authorities tightened the safety measures implemented in the Greater Male' region, following an alarming upsurge of COVID-19 cases after the state initiated efforts to steer the country towards a 'new normal' with the phased easing of lockdown restrictions.
Authorities have stated that the effects of implementing stricter measures will be reflected in the case numbers towards the end of the month.
Maldives currently records a total of 9,494 virus cases of which 1,422 are active cases, in addition to 8,933 recoveries and 33 deaths.