Fully vaccinated tourists are no longer required to present a negative PCR test result upon arrival as of Saturday (5 March).
Covid-19 vaccination is deemed complete if 14 days have passed since receiving the prescribed doses of a vaccine approved by the Maldives Food and Drug Authority or the WHO for emergency use. “Booster doses are not required to be eligible for this exemption,” the tourism ministry explained.
“Travellers who have not completed the prescribed doses of vaccination should hold a valid negative PCR test result with a sample taken at most 96 hours prior to the first port of embarkation, en route to the Maldives,” according to Maldives immigration. Children below the age of one are exempted.
Both vaccinated and unvaccinated tourists must still submit a health declaration online prior to arrival in the Maldives. With the relaxed rules, vaccinated tourists who stay in guesthouses on local islands will not be required to take a PCR test prior to departure.
Covid-19 cases among tourists stood at 0.5 percent of arrivals as of 2 March, up slightly from 0.3 percent during 2021. About 98 percent of resort workers are fully vaccinated. Domestic travel restrictions were also lifted last month as a new wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant receded. A total of 323 cases of Covid-19 were reported with only eight patients in hospitals across the Maldives on Saturday.
