Health Protection Agency (HPA) has instructed residents of islands with guesthouses to get vaccinated immediately.
Speaking to PSM News, HPA stated residents of islands with guesthouses who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines should receive their vaccine doses as soon as possible, as the increase of tourists could raise the chance of an outbreak in the islands. HPA noted the importance of eligible Maldivians getting vaccinated in order to protect individuals who are unable to get vaccinated, as well as the importance of confirming that tourists visiting the islands have received their vaccinations.
HPA guidelines require tourists to complete their vaccination 14 days prior to checking in at guesthouses on an inhabited island. Tourists who have not completed their vaccine doses are only allowed to check in at guesthouses in which the island population has reached a specified threshold of vaccine coverage, according to the HPA guidelines. As such, tourists that have not completed their vaccine doses are allowed to check in at guesthouses in islands that have a 60% vaccinated population, with 95% of vaccinated tourism employees and 90% of vaccinated residents above 65 years of age. Tourists that have not completed their vaccine doses are required to take a PCR test seven days after checking in.
Statistics show COVID-19 cases in the Maldives have significantly decreased and the government has urged all eligible Maldivians to receive their vaccine doses in order for businesses to continue to recover from the pandemic.