Curfew on capital Male' City increased from 16:00-4:00

The curfew on the capital Male' City has been extended to start at 16:00 to 4:00 for a period of one week starting from tomorrow.

Currently, the curfew in place starts at 21:00 and ends at 4:00.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) announced today that the increased number of cases in the capital led to the increase in preventive measures such as the curfew which will now start at 16:00 starting from tomorrow and end at 4:00.

Moreover, the HPA also announced that congregational prayers in mosques of the capital are to be stopped. 

The HPA has previously ordered social distancing measures inside mosques even while praying and instructed those attending mosques to take preventive measures and to even take their prayer mats. 

The measures come as the Maldives confirmed more than 1,000 cases daily on two consecutive days. The higher caseload increase does however come with a significant amount of backlog from samples.

In addition to the curfew extension, the HPA also announced that dine-in services at restaurants and cafes in the capital are also to be stopped for the time being. Such businesses are only to offer takeaway and delivery services. 

HPA also warned that any businesses operating in violation of the COVID-19 regulations in the capital will be closed for a period of 24 hours.