Expatriate teachers must quarantine for five days upon return to Maldives

Education Ministry has stated that expatriate teachers who a returning to the Maldives for the academic new year must undergo a quarantine period of five days.

A copy of the letter sent by the Ministry to all schools regarding the matter was received by Sun. The letter stated that the decision was taken due to health concerns raised by local councils and other concerned parties on teachers being able to return to school without quarantining after spending time abroad.

The Ministry further detailed that they have discussed the matter with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) as well.

“After the discussions, we decided that vaccinated expatriate teachers arriving in the Maldives must also complete a quarantine period of five days at the place of their residency – and submit a release sample subsequently. They will be allowed to return for work at schools after a confirmed negative result,” the Ministry had said.

While HPA has recently revised the regulations to allow fully vaccinated work permit holders to be able to travel to the Maldives with a negative PCR test.

Additionally, those who have recovered from the virus can travel without having to quarantine - subject to that 60 days have not passed since the initial date of recovery. 

However, these rules will not be applicable to expatriate teachers arriving in the Maldives for the academic new year following the decision by the Ministry to mandate a five-day quarantine period.

The academic new year is set to begin on August 10 – thus expatriate teachers must complete their five-day quarantine before this date.