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Sunday 24 Nov 2024
LOCAL EDITION
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LOCAL EDITION
A woman is pictured near the jetty of the capital Male' City as she prepares to depart. ((Sun Photo/Fayaz Moosa)
Amendments to the Health Protection Agency guidelines in place for COVID-19 now permits Maldivians as well as travelers with work visas to travel to resorts provided, they have a negative PCR test.
Maldivians have been barred from traveling to resorts since the government permitted the reopening of resorts on July 15.
An announcement by the HPA, signed by the Director-General of Public Health Maimoona Aboobakuru read that local tourists, as well as those permitted under the policies to travel to resorts for short periods of time, can do so with a negative PCR test of 72 hours.
The accommodations and dining for these travelers are to be arranged separately from the workers of the resort. These travelers are still required to quarantine for 10 days if they travel from the resorts to another area of the Maldives apart from the Greater Male’ area.
Locals traveling from abroad as well as arrivals in the Maldives with work visas are required to present a 96-hour negative PCR test and are exempt from the mandatory quarantine of ten days if they are residing in the Greater Male’ Area.
They are, however, advised to wear masks and keep themselves at a distance from others living in the same residence. The move is to come into effect on December 20, 2020.
HPA’s announcement read that despite this, arrivals from abroad who are traveling to other locations apart from the Greater Male’ Area, including resorts, health care workers, employees of educational institutions are still required to quarantine for a period of 10 days.
Those currently in quarantine in the Male’ City area after arriving from abroad are to be released after a negative test. HPA said that arrangements for the testing of these individuals are currently being made.
Locals are still barred from traveling to other inhabited islands of the nation. Maldives confirmed its first case of COVID-19 in March. The first case of a community spread in the capital Male' City was identified on April 15.
