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COVID-19: HPA shortens curfew, vehicle ban in Male' city

Mariyam Malsa
17 October 2020, MVT 09:48
Covid-19/ VehiclesTraffic Police officer keeps watch in front of the Sinamale' Bridge: HPA reduced curfew hours and restrictions on vehicular movement to 2300 to 0400 hrs. PHOTO: AHMED AWSHAN ILYAS / MIHAARU
Mariyam Malsa
17 October 2020, MVT 09:48

The Health Protection Agency (HPA), on Friday, shortened the time period for curfew and restriction of vehicle movements within the Greater Male' Region to 2300 till 0400.

Additionally, HPA's announcement also revealed that cafe's and restaurants operating in Male', Vilimale and Hulhumale' would be permitted to remain open until 2230 hrs.

Initially implemented on August 23, vehicle movements within the Greater Male' Region were originally prohibited from 2000 hrs till 0500 hrs. The beginning of the restrictive period was changed to 2200 hrs on October 3 as part of the move to lighten measures.

Meanwhile, regular curfew hours have remained set from 2200 hrs to 0500 hrs since the introduction of the measure on August 4.

Maldives currently records a total of 11,154 virus cases of which 1,117 are active cases, in addition to 9,995 recoveries and 35 deaths.

During August, 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.

After a long period of recording over 100 daily cases, the numbers fell to two-digits during the most part of September. Within this same period, the number of recoveries saw a significant increase, bringing the number of recovered cases to over 89 percent.

Despite the sustained decrease in virus cases, HPA has renewed calls for citizens to adhere to protective measures to contain the spread of the virus, cautioning against a public sentiment that the outbreak has been “controlled”.

On March 12, WHO classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. To date, the new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 39.5 million people and claimed over 1.1 million lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 29.6 million people have recovered.

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