Health Minister Ahmed Naseem has prolonged the duration of the Maldives’ State of Public Health Emergency for the 17th time since it was first announced on March 12, 2020.
On March 12, 2020, then-Health Minister Abdulla Ameen declared a public health emergency for 30 days, exercising the minister’s discretionary powers under the Public Health Act. The public health emergency has been extended multiple times since then.
The health ministry declared on Monday that the public health emergency will be maintained since COVID-19 is still a threat to the Maldives, and that any special procedures that the circumstance necessitates shall be implemented.
Since recording the first case of COVID-19 in March 2020, Maldives has documented 77,663 verified cases and 221 deaths. The COVID-19 situation in the country has dramatically improved in the past few weeks.