The government of Maldives is to mandate locals and work visa-holders arriving from the United Kingdom, to undergo a 10-day quarantine period.

In an announcement on Saturday night, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) revealed that additional measures rooted from the recently discovered new variant of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in UK, and that the new measures will be in effect from Sunday.

As such, those travelling to Maldives who spent any time in the United Kingdom 14 days prior, including more than 12 hours in transit at Britain, are required to home-quarantine for a 10-day period.

They will also be subject to PCR testing five days from arrival, and for a second time, 10 days after arrival.

Arrivals are required to present negative PCR certification confirmed 96 hours prior to departure, upon arrival as mandated.

Following the announcement, the relevant authorities have been ordered to implement the orders of the Director General of Public Health, Maimoona Aboobakuru.

The new measures come less than 24 hours after the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC), revealed that the government is in discussions regarding additional measures that are required to be implemented amid fears of the new Covid-19 strain.

Authorities are conducting a risk assessment for the likelihood of the new variant emerging in Maldives, as it has already begun surfacing in several countries, where Covid-19 cases are snowballing.

Nazla stressed on the importance of strict adherence to the current measures in place, in order to reduce the risk of the new strain reaching the island nation.

The new Covid-19 variant spreading in the UK, which remains the top third market source for Maldives tourism industry, is believed to be 70 percent more transmissible. New strains of the pandemic have also been confirmed in South Africa and Nigeria, to which many countries are responding by placing travel restrictions.