Vaccinated locals, work permit holders not required to quarantine upon return to Maldives

Vaccinated Maldivians and work permit holders who return to the Maldives from abroad are not required to quarantine upon their return, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has said. The change will come into effect from July 26.

In a directive issued by the Director-General of Public Health, Maimoona Aboobakuru, HPA said those who have recovered from COVID-19 can enter the country without needing to quarantine if 60 days have not passed since their sample tested positive. Additionally, locals and work permit holders who have completed the full dose of any COVIiD-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) can also enter the country without having to quarantine upon their arrival. Vaccine doses are considered complete if 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of the vaccine. Furthermore, children who travel with vaccinated individuals are not required to quarantine. However, adults who have received the vaccine but have not completed 14 days after receiving the vaccine, and children accompanying them will be required to take a PCR test 5-7days after arrival in the Maldives. Unvaccinated local travelers and work permit holders will be required to complete a 14-day quarantine and will be released only after a PCR test confirms they are negative for COVID-19.

All travelers must present a PCR negative test not more than 72-hours old upon arrival in the Maldives. All travelers must register on HPA's Haalubelun Portal and seek the required permits before embarking on their journey, said HPA.