Opposition supporters arrested from the PPM-PNC protests held on Friday have refused to give samples for Covid-19 testing, Police confirm.
The protests being organized by the opposition coalition in recent weeks go against health and safety guidelines issued by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, as gatherings of more than five people are presently banned across the Male' area. The Elections Commission (EC) has also previously issued instructions to political parties to strictly follow HPA regulations at a time the number of new Covid-19 cases being reported in the capital city have been concerningly high.
Maldives Police Service (MPS) have revealed that opposition supporters arrested from Friday's protests had declined to provide samples for Covid-19 testing, despite having come into direct contact with law enforcement personnel during tense confrontations over the weekend. Police further revealed that while many people are being kept in custodial as well, those arrested at Friday's protests had been asked to test for Covid-19 as a precaution.
MPS have since confirmed that all 38 opposition supporters arrested from Friday's protests declined to give samples for Covid-19 testing.
The opposition PPM-PNC coalition have been conducting a series of protests across the nation's capital over various demands. Police have previously warned that they would be pursuing legal action against protestors, as the gatherings are being conducted against HPA regulations and put many citizens at risk of Covid-19 infection. MPS also notes that the protests being conducted are not peaceful in nature as well, in addition to going against regulations implemented to control Covid-19.
The Maldives is presently experiencing a devastating third wave of the global pandemic, with the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) having confirmed that the past week had seen the highest number of new infections detected across the country since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 have also increased, with three deaths having been confirmed over the past week.
