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COVID-19: 122 tourists test positive since border reopening

Ahmed Aiham
07 November 2020, MVT 19:56
A large number of private aircraft seen parked on the Velana International Airport. PHOTO: VELANA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Ahmed Aiham
07 November 2020, MVT 19:56

Ministry of Tourism statistics revealed that 122 tourists had tested positive since Maldives reopened its borders to tourism on July 15.

The ministry noted that a total of 43,609 tourists arrived in Maldives between July 15 and November 3. The positive cases are roughly 0.28 percent of the total arrivals.

From the 122 positive cases, 77 have recovered, leaving 48 guests undergoing treatment.

During the period, the highest number of tourists arrived in October with 21,515 visitors.

Although the Greater Male' Region - the epicentre of the outbreak - records the majority of active virus cases, COVID-19 cases are currently present in 15 inhabited islands as well as 30 resorts across the archipelago, including a total of 120 resort staff that tested positive.

In light of the increased cases among tourist establishments, including the recent outbreak in Kandima Resort, Minister of Tourism Dr Abdulla Mausoom announced that random test samplings will be conducted for resort staff throughout the country.

With the reopening of local guesthouse tourism on October 15, imported virus cases are expected to be identified in such tourist islands.

As with numerous countries around the world, in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Maldives closed its air and sea borders to tourist arrivals on March 27, halting the issuance of on-arrival visas.

The restrictions on international travel left Maldives' heavily tourism reliant economy in an extremely vulnerable state. In mid-April, the World Bank projected that Maldives would be the worst-hit economy in the South Asian region due to the pandemic.

Maldives currently records a total of 11,932 virus cases of which 845 are active cases, in addition to 11,041 recoveries and 39 deaths.

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