HPA: No immediate plans to mandate PCR tests during school holidays

Health Protection Agency (HPA) said Tuesday it had no immediate plans of mandating COVID-19 PCR tests for travelers during the upcoming school holidays.

COVID-19 cases have tripled in Maldives over the last week, as both the school holidays and the Eid al-Adha holidays approach.

The spike in cases have sparked rumors of the possible implementation of restrictive measures, including mandatory PCR tests for travelers.

An official from HPA told Sun on Tuesday that the agency did not have any immediate plans to impose such a measure, and continued to recommend masks and physical distancing to reduce the number of cases.

Maldives lifted the state of public health emergency invoked in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and dropped the mask mandate and the travel quarantine mandate back in March. However, with the recent spike in cases, HPA recommended masks during public gatherings.

HPA has recommended anyone with flu symptoms to self-isolate and get tested as soon as possible.