Tourism Minister Dr. Abdullah Mausoom says guesthouses in the Greater Male’ Area would not reopen in October.
Speaking at a press conference held by the Ministry, Dr. Mausoom said with the COVID-19 pandemic still rampant in the Greater Male’ Area, guesthouses in Male’, Villimale and Hulhumale’ would not be allowed to reopen next month.
He said is the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the capital city falls beyond 5 percent then guesthouses in the area would be allowed to resume business but only under the guidelines set by the Health Protection Agency HPA.
Yesterday the Tourism Ministry announced that Government will permit the reopening of Guest Houses from 15 Oct 2020. It said that the issuing of the permit will be based on consent from Island Councils with both the guesthouse and the council required to fulfill certain conditions before approval is given.
The island council is required to set up a COVID-19 taskforce along with an isolation and quarantine facility and also arrange transport to transfer a COVID-19 patient to a regional hospital. It should also ensure that the island has a flu clinic and that the health center has an isolation room too.
The guesthouses must submit a health and safety plan to the Ministry before it issues a permit to resume operations.
