Masks made mandatory in all residential islands

Director General of Public Health, Maimoona Aboobakuru has made changes to the measures implemented in Maldives to control the spread of COVID-19, including making masks and social distancing mandatory in all residential islands and islands with operational airports.

The changes were announced by Health Protection Agency (HPA) in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

According to HPA, the decision has been made to make wearing masks when out in public and maintaining a physical distance of 3 feet mandatory when out in public in all residential islands and islands with operational airports, as a precautionary measure.

The changes are effective Friday, December 4.

Masks were previously only mandatory in greater Male’ region – which is experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 - and residential islands with operational guesthouses.

Additional changes to COVID-19 measures announced this Wednesday include shortening the quarantine period for travellers to 10 days, and allowing workers who travel from Male’ to other islands with permission for short-term visits for the provision of essential services or for projects to travel if they have a negative COVID-19 PCR result taken within maximum 72 hours.