As the global Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage South Asian countries, public health authorities have issued a travel restriction that will prevent work permit holders from South Asian countries from entering the Maldives.

A directive signed by the Director General of Public Health Maimoona Aboobakuru reads that beginning Sunday, until further notice, work permit holders from South Asian countries will be restricted from entering the Maldives.

While a new, more virulent variant of Covid-19 has been discovered in India, it has since been detected from neighboring Sri Lanka as well. In addition to this, the number of Covid-19 cases being detected in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have been on the rise in recent weeks.

HPA had previously issued an order that would prevent Indian tourists from staying at guesthouses and hotels in residential islands of the Maldives. Work permit holders entering the Maldives from India were also required to quarantine for a period of 14 days,

However, beginning Sunday, work permit holders from South Asian countries will be restricted from entering the Maldives until further notice.

766 new Covid-19 infections were detected in the country on Friday, with over 500 cases corresponding to the capital city of Male'. There are over 8,000 active cases of the infection across the country, as the Maldives battles the worst wave yet of the global pandemic.