Maldivians warned against 'all but essential travel' to Bangladesh

The foreign ministry has cautioned against traveling to Bangladesh, as a precaution against the rapidly spreading coronavirus.

The ministry, via apress releaseon Monday, issued caution against “all non-essential” travel to the SAARC country, as well as “other countries that have confirmed cases of novel coronavirus”.

It further advised all Maldivians “to register at the resident or closest diplomatic mission of Maldives” when traveling abroad, as well as to "avail of travel health insurance before travelling”.

The ministry also advised those living abroad to follow instructions by the public health authorities of the respective nations.

While the foreign ministry issued caution when traveling to Bangladesh, it is among the five countries where Maldives has temporarily barred passengers and crew with travel history to the nations are barred from entering or transiting through.

The ban covers Bangladesh, China, Iran, South Korea and Italy. However, citizens of these countries residing in another country, or has been out of the country for more than 14 days are not included.

The ban on travellers from Bangladesh took effect on Tuesday, and will remain until March 24.

While Covid-19 continues to rapidly spread across the world, Bangladesh has confirmed three cases.

Authorities said that three factors are examined before enforcing travel bans, including how prepared the nation is for an outbreak as well how strong its public health system is.