Minister of Health, Abdulla Ameen has stated that this is not the time for hasty decisions despite there being a decrease in the number of confirmed Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in the country of recent.

As such, speaking to press during the routinely press briefing on Thursday night, Ameen noted that although suspected cases are less and there have not been any positive cases in the past few days, it does not mean things should be done hastily and imprecisely but that the government should put in additional special measures.

Specifically, resort workers who evacuate the islands and observe symptoms even after 14 days should not hide this information from authorities. This, Ameen said, might put everyone in the Maldives at risk.

Should any symptoms of the disease be observed, individuals are urged to reach out to relevant authorities, this is of utmost importance, he urged.

Further, the minister noted that the several measures being taken by the government are done to slow down the spread of the disease among the society. As for the curfew imposed by the government on 2 April, Ameen noted that this measure was lifted after discussions with relevant authorities and after closely observing the situation.

Thanking the people for their support and cooperation during the curfew hours within the past week, Minister Ameen stated that the authorities and everyone working on the frontlines to combat the virus urges the people to follow regulations and take them “seriously”.

The curfew was announced by the Director General of Public Health, Maimoona Aboobakuru on 1 April and was implemented from 2 April to 8 April from 5pm to 8pm. Although the people were urged to stay indoors during the curfew, there were many violators within the week it lasted.