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HPA permits exit from 138 tourist facilities

Health Protection Agency (HPA) has permitted the exit of individuals from 138 tourist facilities.

The list of resorts and safaris from which exit is now allowed has been published on the HPA website. The list includes 69 resorts and 69 safaris. HPA stated an additional 107 resorts and 76 safaris have applied for the exit permission, adding the documents of the facilities are being verified before issuing the permit.

HPA has imposed strict measures to restrict travel between resorts and inhabited islands, in order to mitigate the risk of COVID-19. As such, no individual is allowed to exit a resort or safari within 14 days after the departure of the last tourist at the facility. Resorts and safaris are required to provide proof of the 14-day quarantine period before exit from the facility can be permitted. Furthermore, any individual at a resort or safari which reported a positive case of COVID-19 must be screened before being allowed to leave.

The first 13 cases of COVID-19 in the Maldives were reported from resorts. While a total of 20 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Maldives so far, 14 of them have fully recovered. The four individuals who are currently undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in the Maldives are locals who have recently arrived from the UK and the Philippines.