Maldives Used as Quarantine Center by Indians Departing to Saudi Arabia

As the situation in India regarding COVID19 develops and issues traveling to Gulf countries have surfaced, Maldivians have become a transit center for Indian workers traveling to The Gulf.

A Facebook Post advertises a package designed for travel to Saudi Arabia after transiting in the Maldives which costs 1400 US Dollars, inclusive of stay and tickets from India to the Maldives and then to Saudi.

It is also inclusive of water, meals, airport travel, PCR testing and a 15 day stay at a Maldivian hotel. It should be noted that this is very cheap considering regular guest house pricing in the Maldives.

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC)’s former Managing Director Haris Mohamed had expressed concern via Facebook stating that despite many celebrating Indian tourist numbers to the Maldives increasing, Maldives is becoming a stop for laborers heading to Gulf Countries. He further expressed concern regarding not mandating negative PCR tests for these workers and that this could cause a third wave here in the Maldives. He further noted that this may cause an economic loss to the Maldives.

Indian tourist numbers entering the Maldives are the highest, at the same time, one of the highest numbers of COVID19 daily cases are also in India. 300,000 people are testing positive daily in India and a new variant of Corona Virus consisting of 2 mutations has been discovered in India. WHO has released a statement regarding the concerns of 2 mutations in one variant.