The Maldives’ state of public health emergency announced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended until October 31.
On March 12, 2020, the Maldives declared a public health emergency for 30 days, under the Public Health Act. The public health emergency has been extended 19 times since then.
Health Minister Ahmed Naseem highlighted in the statement announcing the latest extension to the state of public health emergency on Thursday that the Health Protection Agency had recommended that the public health emergency be extended since the possibility of a severe countrywide outbreak remained.
The Public Health Act empowers the health minister to proclaim a state of public health emergency either nationwide or in specific locations, with the Director General of Public Health’s advice.
The Maldives has registered 89 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of active cases in the country to 1,591. The country has also continued vaccination efforts, with 391,960 people receiving the first dosage and 337,293 being fully vaccinated.
