Addu City, Maldives – Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced that curfew will be imposed in Addu City from 20:00 to 04:00 for a week starting from tomorrow.
According to HPA, during curfew times, going out in public and the operation of any vehicles on the road is prohibited.
Further restrictions imposed by HPA also stated that going out in groups of more than 3 is also not allowed under the new guidelines, and that when out, masks are always mandatory in the region.
According to the Mayor of the City, Abdullah Sodiq (Sobe), the decision has been made with consideration to the fact that there may be a possible community spread in the city, and that during the curfew, of which the duration will be announced today, visiting houses will be banned.
Apart from this, dine-ins and operations of roadside food stalls, as well as hair saloons has also been suspended, with only delivery allowed for restaurants and cafés. However, he revealed that shops will be open as per the Health Protection Agency (HPA) guidelines during this time.
Earlier today Addu Emergency Operation Center (AEOC) had revealed that the total number of direct contacts in connection to the the Covid-19 cluster formed among the participants of an Aviation Security Command training held in Gan, known as the Aviation Cluster, has reached 263, as the positive toll remained at 24.
The total number of positive cases include the 2 cases identified from Thinadhoo island of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, of which one person was a participant of the training held at Gan, while the other was a direct contact.
The Aviation cluster was identified on 6th February, after two participants of the training consulted the flu clinic after becoming symptomatic, and were subsequently tested, which resulted in the samples testing positive for Covid-19. With this, the contact tracing efforts were initiated, and more cases were discovered, which have gone up to 24 in just three days.
Currently there are two clusters of Covid-19 in Addu City – one being the Aviation cluster, and the other being in Hulhumeedhoo at the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) site. 26 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded from the site, totaling the active number of cases in the city to 49, including a positive case identified today from a quarantine release sample.
