The Maldives government on Tuesday, 17 March 2020, has temporarily banned all local guesthouses and city hotels to accept tourist bookings and lodgings.
Minister of Tourism Mr Ali Waheed during the press conference held on Tuesday on COVID-19 developments, confirmed Maldives Health Protection Agency (HPA) has decided to temporarily restrict bookings and lodgings on all local guesthouses and city hotels effective from 18:00hrs onward.
Moreover, Minister Waheed confirmed tourists have been restricted from traveling to locally inhabited islands. Additionally, he added tourists currently lodging in local guesthouses will be able to stay until the duration of their bookings.
Earlier, Maldives government had closed down all guesthouses and city hotels in the Male' City region inclusive of Hulhumale' and Hulhule.
The island nation has confirmed a total of 13 positive cases to COVID-19, all discovered from foreigners.
