With an increased capacity of 200 beds, the government is set to reopen the Villivaru Quarantine Facility on May 17.

This was revealed during Monday afternoon’s press briefing by the Minister of Tourism, Ali Waheed.

The minister noted that the facility will be completed and opened for service on May 17 and that the facility will be opened to media and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) for inspection a day prior, on May 16.

He added that the isolation of Maldivians as well as foreigners will be completed on time and that the government is expected to complete the work on a special Covid-19 facility as well as the Hiyaa Facility in Hulhumalé within the Covid-19 surge period expected within the next few days.

After allocating the establishment as a quarantine facility, authorities had to evacuate the facility due to issues that surfaced soon after. Following this, the facility is being reconstructed and it has since been allocated specifically for foreigners.

The previous facility established at Villivaru island had a 30-bed capacity. With the recent developments, it is now a 230-bed capacity facility.