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Maldives bans tourist arrivals from Sri Lanka

Maldives has placed a temporary ban on tourist arrivals from Sri Lanka.

Maldives Immigration announced all tourists arriving from Sri Lanka, as well as foreigners who have been to Sri Lanka in the past 14 days, will be denied entry to Maldives. The ban does not include Maldivians who are currently in Sri Lanka, although all returning Maldivians are also required to be placed under a 14-day quarantine.

Amid the outbreak of COVID-19, Sri Lanka has announced a nationwide curfew until March 22. Sri Lanka has also closed down some of the services in Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.

Meanwhile, Maldives has also been strengthening border control measures in order to contain the spread of COVID-19. In this regard, in addition to Sri Lanka, tourist arrivals from China, Italy, Spain, Iran, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the UK as well as regions of France, Germany and South Korea have been banned.

Additionally, all locals returning back from abroad are now required to be quarantined for 14 days in a location set by the administration.