MP Azim: COVID now over, call off measures

Parliament representative for Medhu Henveriru constituency MP Ali Azim on Wednesday said that COVID-19 is now over, and called on the government to dismiss measures taken due to it.

Speaking in the debate on the challenges to Madhrasathul Ifthithaah in Lh. Naifaru, the MP stated that currently, the biggest obstacle to the progress of the educational sector was the measures taken to combat COVID-19.

 “Right now, there are very big obstacles to our children. It would not be wrong to say that in the past two years, there was no education.”

Noting that it has been nearly two years to announcing the state of public health emergency in Maldives, he added that the whole thing has now become a “big joke”.

“There are many laws suspended due to the state of public health emergency. I wonder which another country in the world has had a health emergency declared for this long due to COVID-19.”

Pointing out that the Parliament Speaker, former President Mohamed Nasheed’s comments on a previous occasion about learning to live with COVID, MP Azim said that the time has come to learn how to live like that.

“We need to stop wearing masks. Over 80 percent of us (citizens) have been given the second dose. Booster has been given. So, we have to start living in the new normal.”

Additionally, calling on the government to end the measures taken due to COVID, MP Azim said that the Parliament need work to start eliminating those steps.

“The Parliament needs to call on the government. Need to tell the government. COVID is now over. We need to resume our previous lives. The educational system needs to be reverted back to how it was before.”

After the surge following the new year, the number of daily positive cases have started to decline now, and many measures have been withdrawn. However, wearing masks in public are still mandatory.