Resort owners, investors to be allowed entry into Maldives under special permit

Authorities have made the decision to allow resort owners, investors and other designated persons to travel to the Maldives.

The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) on Saturday announced that the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has authorized permitting specific parties to travel to the Maldives under a special visa.

According to NEOC, this includes resort owners, investors, representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank and other such institutions. Guidelines have been established for the purpose, including a second set of guidelines pertaining to diplomatic services.

NEOC said all arrivals under the special visas must be tested for COVID-19 within 24 hours of arrival, and a second test must be undergone after 14 days. Only authorized employees will be allowed to serve them, and those permitted to serve such parties will only be allowed to leave the island after completing a 14-day period on the island.

NEOC said resort owners and investors must be allowed the opportunity to stay at their resorts where possible.

The Maldives suspended issuing on-arrival visas on March 27 as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. The tourism-dependent archipelago has recorded over 500 cases of COVID-19 until now, with one fatality. The number of recoveries is 18.