Health Minister Abdullah Ameen says guesthouses won’t be reopened next month as the country experiences a surge of COVID-19 cases.
Speaking at the inauguration of COVID Management Facilities in Addu City, Fuvahmulah City, and Haa Alifu Ihavandhoo Minister Ameen said although the tourism restart guideline had stated that guesthouses would be allowed to reopen in August, officials have reviewed the timeline and postponed the reopening of guesthouses.
He said that the officials would again revisit this decision around the 15th of August and would announce when the local tourism establishments could resume their operations.
The Minister said based on the current trajectory of the infection and the rate of the spread, the earliest possible date for the reopening would be in early September.
Ameen also said that authorities were taking appropriate measures to further quell the COVID-19 pandemic but conceded that the number of new cases reported in the country on each day has been increasing with 77 confirmed today.
The 77 new cases included 56 Maldivians, 20 Bangladeshis, and 1 Indian national.
This takes the total number of cases to 3252 in the country.
Earlier this month, Health Protection Agency HPA had confirmed that the COVID-19 global pandemic is spreading at a much faster rate compared to 3 weeks before.
