T he Tourism Ministry of the Maldives has stated that only guesthouses that meet certain requirements will be permitted to reopen in October. Guesthouses in the Maldives closed down operations around March, due to the situation with COVID-19. The government has since announced that guesthouses will be permitted to restart operations on October 15. Speaking in a press conference last night, Deputy Tourism Minister Assad Riza said that only guesthouses with a COVID-19 safety plan will be permitted to reopen. Guesthouses are to forward these plans to the Ministry, upon which Councils in the island would inspect the facility to ensure that the safety measures are in place. Designated rooms for isolation as well as a focal point must be designated from every guesthouse. Posters and signs for safety measures must be placed in the guesthouse and all employees of the guesthouse must be informed on how to operate under the safety measures. A sufficient amount of PPEs must also be kept in stoc