Health Minister Ahmed Naseem has said that with the high number of COVID-19 cases in the country, the capital, Male' City needs to go to a full lockdown at the cure state.

Speaking on the proposed Tour Operators and Tour Agents Act at the Parliament today, Minister Naseem said that since the Maldivian economy is based on tourism, the country does not have the capacity to go into another lockdown.

However, at the current state of Male' City, Minister Naseem said that it's at the brink of going to another lockdown as the COVID threat level is high.

The Health Minister said that the capital city has failed to control the spread of COVID-19, they are looking to way of gaining control without going into a lockdown while more measures need to be put in place to control the spread.

He said that more public awareness programs are going to be held through TV stations.

There has been a spike in COVID-19 cases since 24 January 2021 with over 50 cases a day on average.