Quarantine period to be deducted from annual leave for unvaccinated persons

A proposal has been submitted to revise the existing regulations so that the leave taken by unvaccinated persons in order to undergo a quarantine period be deducted from their annual leave.

As per the current regulations, if an employee needs to take leave in order to undergo a quarantine period in relation to COVID-19, the employer must grant a special leave to the employee without the provision of a medical certificate. Moreover, this would be a paid leave – and the days spent in quarantine will not be deducted from their annual leave.

Sun has been informed that a proposal has been submitted to revise this regulation during a policy meeting held at the President’s Office – so that the leave taken by unvaccinated employees to undergo a quarantine period be deducted from their annual leave. The revision has been suggested to encourage vaccination amongst people.

However, no official decision has been made yet regarding the matter.

In order to encourage vaccination, the government has begun to ease travel restrictions for fully vaccinated persons.

On the other hand, the government has also come up with stricter measures for unvaccinated persons. In this regard, starting from September unvaccinated persons will be barred from entering cafes/restaurants, gyms, salons, and schools.

In addition to this, unvaccinated individuals who wish to travel to another island will continue to be required to quarantine and will be required to pay for their release sample upon completion of their quarantine period.

While the vaccination drive in the Maldives is going ahead at full speed, a total of 284,329 persons have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of yesterday.