The Minister of Tourism Hon. Ali Waheed has revealed that the government is targeting to eliminate COVID-19 and commence Safe Tourism in the Maldives over the next 3 months.

The Tourism Minister stated that the government aims to make the Maldives the first country in Asia to completely eliminate COVID-19 and are analyzing ways to commence Safe Tourism in the country after the elimination period.

According to the Minister, the government will work to revive all businesses hit hard by the global pandemic, while keeping the safety of all Maldivians as first priority.

"With in the next three months, the Maldives will become the first Covid-free country in the Asia region, god willing. We are conducting surveys to begin safe tourism when we reach that road." said the Minister.

The Minister pressed that the governments first and foremost priority is the safety of the citizens of the Maldives and that the government has been taking steps to ensure that the businesses of investors do not disintegrate. He further noted that compared to some neighbouring countries and the continent of Europe, the situation in the Maldives was good, which he attributed to the stringent measures undertaken.

He highlighted the fact that the country had targeted two million tourist arrivals and that tourist arrivals into the country had been completely halted due to the virus. The Minister stated his hope that if things go well, the country can start welcoming tourists once again in the last quarter of the year.

"No leader of any country in the world can predict when they can overcome the crisis, and until a vaccine for the virus is found the world will be in a state of anxiety where rapid decisions will be taken," said the Minister.

"We still view this situation as the edge of the storm cloud. Until a vaccine is found, we should not lose focus and get distracted from the seriousness of the situation," he added.

Additionally, today President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih met with the Maldives' Cabinet of Ministers at Muleeaage where discussions were held concerning the response and recovery measures implemented by the Government with regards to the global pandemic, Covid-19. The main area of focus was the interventions that have been placed in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 throughout the island nation. Furthermore, the Cabinet discussed the global pandemic's socioeconomic impacts on the Maldives, in addition to the steps taken by the Government towards building the country's resilience and minimising projected losses.