Ministry of Tourism has revealed over 12,000 employees working in the tourism industry have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The tourism ministry said special efforts are undertaken to vaccinate tourism employees, as they work closely with tourists arriving in the Maldives. As such, the ministry revealed 12,793 tourism employees have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This includes 12,048 resort staff, 306 guesthouse staff, 214 staff of liveaboards and 70 hotel staff. Furthermore, 64 musicians, 24 travel agents and 67 frontline staff of the tourism ministry have also received the vaccine.
The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme was launched in the Maldives on February 1. Vaccination of tourism staff began on February 4.
Resorts are permitted to carry out COVID-19 vaccination if they fulfill the criteria specified by the tourism ministry. As such, the resorts are required to have allocated locations for registration, vaccination, post-vaccination monitoring and emergency treatment. Vaccines are transported to resorts from nearby regional hospitals, where the vaccines are stored.