Health Protection Agency HPA has confirmed that there are no reported cases of the new COVID variant Omicron in the Maldives yet.
This comes as the country's closest neighbors India and Sri Lanka confirmed their first cases of the new and highly infectious variant of COVID-19.
An official from HPA confirmed that as of now there are no reported cases of the Omicron variant in the country and that the HPA cannot divulge information about the individual cases.
Omicron has spread rapidly to at least 40 countries since it was first reported in South Africa last week, officials say, and many governments have tightened travel rules to try to keep it out including the Maldives.
Last November authorities in the Maldives barred entry of nationals from 7 southern African countries including South Africa.
The Maldives remains a popular travel destination among South Africans with Immigration data showing that more than 5,300 people from the country had visited the Maldives in September and October of this year.
While arrival statistics for November is unavailable, it is highly likely that visitors from the African countries had entered the country before it closed its borders to tourists from those nations.
