Currently, tourists from India can stay in isolated resorts and are not allowed on islands inhabited by locals. But this is still the largest group of tourists in the archipelago since late July last year, after the Maldives reopened its international borders. The archipelago is located in the south of India, only about 2-3 hours by flight from the country. Thoyyib Mohamed, head of the Maldives’ tourism authority, told AFP : “The scattered geographical position of the small islands helps us to minimize the risk of spreading the virus on a large scale.” In addition to Dubai, the Maldives is the place where the rich in India are flocking to flee the dangerous situation at home. Photo: Shutterstock. “Many small islands are isolated, self-contained resorts. If a new case appears, the government is still able to control and isolate sick people in the resort, preventing pathogens from creeping out.” , Mr. Thoyyib added. Maldives is also conducting a campaign to vaccinate against Covid-19 for all 50,000 people in the country working in the fields of tourism, commercial services and hotels. In the other direction, many Indian actors and celebrities face an angry public reaction when they still carelessly show their photos to the Maldives to escape the epidemic and relax. Ranbir Kapoor and his girlfriend left India in the middle of the epidemic season and posted pictures of enjoying a vacation. Photo: Nzerald. On April 19, Ranbir Kapoor – the 6th highest paid actor in Bollywood – shared a picture of himself and his girlfriend Alia Bhatt leaving the country, with the caption “Maldives beckoning me”. Similarly, another pair of Bollywood stars, Disha Patani and Tiger Shroff, showed off photos of enjoying the Maldives in a 5-star resort. Below the comment section, a series of objections, criticizing the insensitivity of the rich class. Many other celebrities in the Indian showbiz also condemned the act of showing off their wealth at this time as offensive and inappropriate. In addition to Dubai, the Maldives is a place where many rich Indians flee to escape the epidemic by private planes at expensive costs. Demand for private jet charters has skyrocketed, with many people pooling money in a shared charter to quickly leave the country. Over the past several days, the number of new Covid-19 cases in India has continuously reached a world record. On April 30, India continued to record 408,331 new infections, bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases in this country to 19 million.

The island nation of Maldives is a tourist attraction. (Source: business-standard) The Maldives Islands have decided entry ban for people from South Asian countries; including India, in an effort to prevent the spread of the acute respiratory infection pandemic COVID-19 . The Maldives Ministry of Tourism on May 12 said: “The Maldivian government has decided to temporarily stop issuing tourist visas to visitors from South Asian countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.” The ban also applies to passengers who transit more than 24 hours in these countries and who have been to these countries within the past 14 days. Meanwhile, guests from other countries are still allowed to go to the Maldives resort islands if available negative PCR test within 96 hours before entry, but do not have contact with local people. Previously, the Maldives has reopened tourist resorts from July 2020 after 3 months of closure against the epidemic. But the country has recorded a record high number of new infections per day (1,500 cases on May 11), while a month ago, this number was less than 100 cases / day.

Tourists to Maldives. (Source: PSM News) Located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives has always been a popular destination and a major attraction for travelers looking for a quality vacation and leisure time. The Maldives is heavily dependent on the tourism industry as it is the main source of foreign currency earnings contributing to the national economy. However, the Covid-19 pandemic occurring around the world, resulting in travel restrictions, has had a significant impact, even a recession, on the country’s economy. On January 30, 2020, the Maldives recorded its first suspected case of corona virus. From the end of March to July 2020, this country was forced to close its borders to tourists, bringing the economy to a standstill. After stopping international flights for more than three months since the start of the pandemic, on July 15, 2020, the Maldives reopened its borders, being one of the first major global tourist destinations to open. back door for foreign visitors. The Maldives Ministry of Tourism has issued the Covid-19 Safe Travel Guide along with a certification program that ensures the safety and hygiene standards of all tourist facilities including accommodation, transportation, airport and other related facilities. Accordingly, the Maldives introduces a program called “Vaccination Tourism” that allows visitors to the country to travel without having to wait until the vaccine trial is completed. The Maldives also offers a distinctive ‘one-island-one-resort’ concept, allowing visitors to maintain social distancing while enjoying a truly safe and secluded stay. As a result, last year, the island nation welcomed 555,000 tourists to visit the Maldives and welcomed more than 400,000 tourists since the beginning of January this year. The Covid-19 vaccine program in the Maldives was started on March 1, with 200,000 doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca “Covishield” vaccine funded by the Indian government. To date, Maldives has also received 12,000 doses of Covishield vaccine through COVAX and 10,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China. With 36% of residents fully vaccinated, the Maldives is currently the fifth most immunized country. With an adequate supply of vaccines, the Maldives is also preparing to launch a “vaccine on arrival” program as soon as all of its population has been vaccinated. However, the nation of islands with a population of 340,000, is currently struggling with an increase in the number of Covid-19 infections, the number of infections increased to a record in a day of 1,500 cases on May 6 compared to May 6. with less than 100 cases just a month ago. White sand resorts and beaches, have been reported to be home to the fastest Covid-19 outbreaks in the world. The average number of new infections recorded in the Maldives every day has reached a new high. To date, there have been 87 deaths related to Covid-19 in the Maldives, including 74 locals, 11 foreign nationals. The Maldives government is forced to take strict measures to contain the current situation. As part of its efforts, the Maldives government has decided to suspend the issuance of tourist visas to visitors originating from South Asian countries, effective from May 13. The ban will also apply to travelers who stay more than 24 hours, have transited or have been to the listed countries within the previous 14 days. Restaurants and cafes are only allowed to open for delivery and takeout, and indoor dining is prohibited. From May 12, a partial curfew was in place in the capital Malé from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m., for a week. Some other restrictions include moving government agencies’ activities to an online service, banning group prayer at mosques, and suspending students at universities from going to school. (according to Vietnam Embassy in Sri Lanka concurrently Maldives)

On Tuesday (May 11), the Maldives Ministry of Tourism announced: “The government decided to temporarily suspend the issuance of tourist visas to visitors from South Asian countries including India, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as those who have transited in these countries within the past 14 days.” The ban is in effect from May 13, 2021 until further notice. This move comes in the context of the Maldives government trying to control the number of Covid-19 infections that have been on the rise again in the last 2 weeks. Maldives recorded a record increase of 1572 cases in a day on Wednesday (May 12), compared with less than 100 cases in the previous month. Taking samples for Covid test in June 2020 in Maldives Maldives was one of the first countries to reopen to tourists in July last year. As soon as the Covid-19 wave broke out in India, the rich Indians and many Bollywood stars flew to the Maldives and showed off their check-in photos of 5-star beaches and resorts online, causing outrage. angry at home. In April this year, officials announced plans to vaccinate resort tourists, after all Maldivians were vaccinated. So far, about 25% of locals have been fully vaccinated, according to figures compiled by CNN. By May, the Maldivian authorities had introduced new restrictions. All new arrivals are required to present full documentation of a negative test done within 96 hours prior to arrival in the archipelago. New restrictions by the Maldivian government mean that India’s super-rich will look elsewhere to flee the epidemic. And Dubai is emerging as a top alternative destination, with bookings up 10% in recent weeks, said Rajan Mehra, CEO of Club One Air.