Malé, Maldives – Health Protection Agency (HPA) on Thursday, has announced new guidelines to be followed when accepting tourists to guesthouses.
HPA stated that tourists must have completed both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine listed among the emergency vaccines noted by World Health Organisation (WHO) not less than 14 days ago before are allowed to check-in into guesthouses. However, children who are too young to be vaccinated can travel with vaccinated adults and stay at guesthouses in inhabited islands.
Along with this, tourists require a negative PCR test taken no longer than 72 hours prior to departure and also requires a negative PCR test before they check out of the guesthouse or hotel.
In addition to this, HPA informs that tourists who have not been fully vaccinated can stay at local guesthouses if the following criteria are met in the island;
- 60 percent of the island fully vaccinated
- 95 percent of all tourism industry workers in the island fully vaccinated
- 90 percent of the elderly population (above 65 years of age) fully vaccinated
HPA states that a person will be counted as fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving both doses if the vaccine. The new regulations are to take effect from July 26 onwards. However, HPA states that the regulation can be amended based on the Covid-19 situation in the country the tourist is coming from.
