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Monday 23 Dec 2024
LOCAL EDITION
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LOCAL EDITION
February 18, 2021: A long exposure shot of the Rasfannu area in Male' City. Since the beginning of 2021, Maldives began to see an upward spike of COVID-19 cases, described as the third wave of the pandemic virus to hit the Maldives. The photo shows an empty street of the capital during a ban on vehicles, which is a part of the safety measures implemented in the nation in light of the heightened situation. (Sun Photo/Fayaz Moosa)
Authorities in the Maldives have extended the state of public health emergency declared in the nation due to COVID-19 for the twelfth time.
The Maldives first declared a state of public health emergency on March 7, 2020. A few days earlier, the nation had confirmed its first case of COVID-19.
Health Minister Ahmed Naseem (Kerafa Naseem) in signed order, extended the state of public health emergency today. The current order is set to expire by April 4.
Since being declared on March 12, 2020, the duration of the state of public health emergency has been extended multiple times. The latest extension order comes with the previous order, set to expire by tomorrow.
The Public Health Act grants the Health Minister the authority to declare a state of public health emergency either nationwide, or in select areas, if the Director-General of Public Health, based on evidence, establishes there to a public health emergency in the Maldives, and finds that it warrants special measures to solve or contain it, and counsels the Health Minister as such.
The declaration of a state of public health emergency on March 12 had marked the first time for the provision on the Public Health Act to be invoked, since the Act’s enactment in 2012.
