Director General of Public Health issues amended order

Director General of Public Health has ordered to stop travel between resorts and the residential islands of the Maldives.

As a measure to protect against COVID-19, the Director General of Public Health had previously ordered to cease travels between resorts, safaris and the inhabited islands. However, the order has once again been re-issued with some amendments.

As per the new order, until further notice, travel between resorts, residential islands and safaris has been banned. The order also prohibited travel to resorts and safaris.

However, exceptions will be given to employees of resorts and safaris who have to travel to the resorts or safaris for work. Those accompanying tourists to the airport and making other departure arrangements are also exempted.

Those who are working in the resorts and those who have travelled to the resorts for various purposes who need to travel back to other islands are required to complete a 14-day isolation in a designated area of the resort before they are allowed to depart from the island if any tourists are staying on the island. They will also be subjected to exit screening, and have to wait for the results to come back.

Furthermore, if there are tourists in the resort, they must remain in the resort for 14 days after the departure of the last tourist, even if no person tested positive or there are no suspected case in the resort.

As per the order, any person can depart from a resort or a safari, after sharing the information and requesting the Health Protection Authority (HPA) for permission. HPA will grant permission only after looking into the cause of the request.

As a measure to protect against COVID-19, the Director General of Public Health has been issuing the necessary orders every day.

Until now, 18 people have tested positive for the virus in the Maldives out of which three locals are the active cases.