Male’ schools to hold virtual classes over next two weeks

Education Ministry announced on Wednesday that students enrolled in schools in Male’ City will take their classes online over the next two weeks starting August 23, as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the capital.

In a tweet on Wednesday evening, Education Ministry said that it made the decision in light of the coronavirus situation, and under the advisement of Health Protection Agency (HPA) and other relevant state institutions.

With the decision, classes for school students in Male’ will be held online for the two-week period from August 23 to September 3.

Education Ministry has announced that the decision to switch to online classes will be subject to review in two weeks.

Schools were closed following the emergence of coronavirus cases in Maldives in March, and reopened over three months later in July. While schools were reopen for grades 1 to 12 students in islands outside the capital, and for grades 9 to 12 students in the capital.

However, relaxation of the lockdown in the greater Male’ region – the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Maldives – led to a surge in coronavirus cases. And schools were closed once more.

Maldives has 6,079 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 170 new infections recorded on Tuesday. 3,648 patients have since recovered, while 24 have died from complications.

More than 800 new cases have been recorded over the last one-week period alone.

The country currently has 2,407 active cases. 144 coronavirus patients are hospitalized.