The Maldives has tightened entry requirements after COVID-19 outbreaks at more than a dozen resorts, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Starting September 10th, 2020 travelers will be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test that was taken no more than 72 hours prior to departure.
The Maldives Ministry of Tourism tweeted the new requirement on September 1st on its official twitter account.
The said PCR test must be conducted within a maximum of 72 hours prior to departure to #Maldives#VisitMaldives
— Ministry of Tourism (@MoTmv) September 2, 2020
All travelers arriving to the Maldives must also fill in a Traveller Health Declaration form 24 hours before departure to the Maldives.
Health inspections will also be in place for all arriving passengers including temperature checks and screening procedures.
Quarantine facilities have been set up to isolate any suspected cases of COVID-19. Travelers presenting symptoms of COVID-19 upon arrival will be subjected to a PCR test at the traveler's cost
Before the reopening of tourism in the Maldives, COVID-19 cases were averaging just over a dozen cases per day. In the last week however, over 1000 cases have been confirmed.
After the Maldives reopened for tourism in July, it was one of the few countries in the world that had reopened without COVID-19 entry restrictions.
Since then 29 local staff and 16 foreigners have tested positive at the resorts, officials said, where they were also being isolated according to France24.
Many tourists were already being tested before arriving in the Maldives as the two main airlines servicing the islands have their own testing requirements. According to One Mile at a Time, Emirates requires all passengers to get COVID-19 tests prior to travel, while Qatar Airways requires travelers from certain countries to get tested.
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Elna
Friday 18th of September 2020
All touristic islands are facing the same challenge: re-open borders and put the local population at risk or stay closed and face the inevitable economic fiasco. Let us hope the vaccine gets ready soon. Cheers, Elna