The Maldives, which saw an influx of Indian tourists in the last few months, has closed its borders to India. The island nation has also tightened curbs for its citizens.
The Health Protection Agency of Maldives tweeted on Tuesday, May 12, that beginning May 13, all tourist visas for visitors from South Asian nations will be temporarily halted.
The preventive measure has been put into effect in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India as well as the surge in cases in other countries in the region.
The government has also imposed a curfew in parts of Maldives, whereas congregational prayers in mosques have been temporarily stopped.
Many celebrities and commoners alike have been flocking the island nation for holidays as the Maldives was among the very few places outside India that were open to Indian tourists.
The Maldives government last month imposed restrictions on Indian visitors by prohibiting their entry on the island nations’ populated islands. However, Indians could still go to the resorts.
As of Monday, Maldives had the most new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the past five, seven and 14 days, while active cases leaped from 4,978 to 11,629 on May 11.
Meanwhile, around 36.6% of the population of over 500,000 has been administered two doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
