Resort Covid-19 clusters manageable without adverse effects: minister

Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has said that while cases of Covid-19 reported from resorts have been on the rise, that it is possible to manage the clusters without adverse effects to the tourism industry.

Minister Mausoom made the remarks in an appearance on RaajjeTV's "Fala Surukhee" programme on Saturday, recalling that while the tourism industry had been hit hard when borders were closed early last year, more and more tourists had been visiting the Maldives since reopening of borders in July 2020.

Dr. Mausoom went on to express his concern that more Covid-19 cases were being reported from resorts in recent weeks. However, he noted that most of the cases corresponded to resort staff, and that the positivity rate for tourists entering the Maldives had been maintained steadily under one percent for the past two months.

The Minister went on to highlight that Health Protection Agency (HPA) was working closely with resort managements to control the spread of Covid-19 in resorts, and said that the situation would likely be controlled soon. He added that there was greater risk to the industry if transmissions could not be mitigated within Male' City.

While the Minister acknowledged that the Maldives had not met its target for tourist arrivals in January, he projected a good outlook for the tourism industry in the upcoming months as many countries had now begun the process of administering Covid-19 vaccines to citizens.

Minister Mausoom said that most nations were expected to bring the pandemic under by June/July. He added that in such an event, tourists from East Asian countries like China, Japan and Korea would begin arriving in the Maldives, which would further boost the Maldives' chances at achieving the target for annual tourists arrivals set for this year.