The government has extended the State of Public Health Emergency for an additional month as the country continues to fight the surge in COVID-19 cases reported in the Maldives.
This is the 7th time the government has extended the State of Public Health Emergency in the country which was initially declared back in March due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In a declaration issued by the Health Ministry, the government extended the State of Public Health Emergency period till 6th September.
The extension was ordered by the powers vested to the Health Minister under Section 33 of the Public Health Protection Act.
The declaration said that the state of public health emergency was extended to further quell the spread of the virus and safeguard the health of the general public.
It also said that the Director-General of Public Health had also advised the Minister to extend the public health emergency period given the current situation of the pandemic in the Maldives.
This comes as the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives worsened this week with confirmation of a community spread in Gaafu Dhaalu Hoadehdhoo with 21 unrelated cases of COVID-19 reported in the island. The island along with the neighboring Madaveli have now been placed under Health Protection Agency HPA monitoring with random sampling for COVID-19 conducted in both islands to assess the community outbreak.
The country has recorded 8584 cases of COVID-19 since March of this year and the pandemic has claimed 29 lives here in the Maldives. This includes 23 Maldivians and 6 foreigners.
