Arrivals from Malaysia and the United Kingdom have been banned from the Maldives, says spokesperson for the government's Covid-19 taskforce Mohamed Mabrook Aziz.

Speaking at the regular press briefing held on Tuesday afternoon by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), Mabrook stated that passengers arriving, transiting from or have a travel history to Malaysia and the United Kingdom within the past 14 days are barred from entry into the Maldives.

The travel ban is effective for Malaysia from 06:00 pm of March 17th onwards while the ban on the United Kingdom takes effect from 19th March, said Mabrook. Both travel restrictions will be in place until further notice.

Mabrook further added that the ban only applied to foreign nationals and that Maldivians residing in the aforementioned countries will be allowed entry into the country but will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine.

Previously, the Maldives placed arrival bans on China, Iran, Italy, Bangladesh, Spain and two regions of South Korea, three regions of Germany over Covid-19 fears.

The Maldives declared a State of Health Emergency on Thursday.