The government of Maldives has imposed a precautionary travel restriction between resorts and all inhabited islands of the country.

The announcement was made by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) on Saturday evening.

As such, the Director General of the Public Health of the Maldives took the precautionary measure pursuant to the powers vested by Section 34(d) of the Public Health Protection Act in order to combat the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Maldives.

The restriction is temporary and is effective from Saturday, 6pm onwards.

Under the restriction, all travel between inhabited islands of Maldives and resorts has been banned for a period of 14 days.

All relevant enforcing agencies are urged to implement the above-mentioned measure to full effect, stated the HPA.

In addition, resort employees who accompany outgoing tourists to airports are exempt from this restriction and the Ministry of Tourism has ordered resort managements to closely monitor the travel routes of their employees.

Furthermore, boats carrying goods to resorts may dock at the jetty for unloading, however, should the crew members decide on entering the resort premises, they will be subject to complete the 14-day period.

Speaking to press on Saturday night, Spokesperson for all things Covid-19, Mabrook Aziz revealed that the government will not back down from implementing additional measures if the people do not adhere to these regulations.

The first cases of the Covid-19 was discovered in Maldives from a resort, Kuredu Island Resort, following which eight more cases have emerged. All the cases emerged from resorts, in foreigners who arrived in the Maldives.