President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated the Maldives suffered an economic loss of USD4.6 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a televised address announcing the lifting of the public health emergency after two years, President Solih shed light on the socio-economic setbacks the Maldives has faced over the past two years. He estimated the Maldives’ economy incurred approximately USD4.6 billion in losses due to the pandemic.
Emphasising that the country’s international partners, global organisations and neighbouring countries played a pivotal role in the Maldives' overcoming the situation, President Solih went on to express his profound gratitude for the concerted effort by everyone to alleviate the people's burdens during this trying time. He attributed Maldives' success in controlling the spread of COVID-19 to the general public's and private parties' full cooperation and support for the administration's preventative measures.
The government first declared the State of Public Health Emergency on March 12, 2020, following the detection of COVID-19 cases in the country for the first time. Borders were shut down for more than three months, before being reopened in July 2020. During this period, the country suffered unprecedented economic hardships, with the closure of borders blocking the the main source of income to the country, which is tourism.