So you think Quarantine in the Maldives is nice? Think again!
By: Kathrin Schuler
Tags: Travel, Quarantine, Covid 19, Maldives, Quarantine Diaries

Furthermore, myself and two others who originally tested negative started developing symptoms. We asked the medical team to retest us but our questions were ignored. We contacted HPA again and also reached out to our respective embassies for help. We let the medical team know about our efforts but they said they have not heard from any higher authority and we cannot be retested until their higher authority permits them to do so. Naturally, we were very worried and anxious: If we test positive, chances are that our quarantine will restart from the day of our positive test… and nobody wanted to be stuck in this place alone.

Later that day, some of us were sent a pdf via WhatsApp with a quarantine notice. The documents were full of errors: Misspelled names, wrong dates of birth, and incomplete or just plain wrong passport numbers. None of the people who tested negative received a quarantine notice and when we asked if we will get one too, the answer was just “wait”.

3rd January (Day 4 of Quarantine)

Still no news on when we could be retested.

Meanwhile, a few people were starting to have more serious symptoms like high fever and tight chest. However, none of us had received a health check since they took our blood pressure the day we arrived, and none of us were asked by the medical team how we were feeling.

I must mention at this point though that commander Azim and his team tried everything in their limited power to make our “stay” there more pleasant. They helped us with cleaning products, ant-spray, clean(er) towels and tried to adjust the food as some of us couldn’t eat what we were given for various reasons. They also tried to help us get into contact with HPA (with limited success) and with resort management so we could get a receipt for our 2000+ USD.

4th January (Day 5 of Quarantine)

I finally receive my quarantine letter but as it turns out I am now from Swaziland, rather than Switzerland. Roger and I decided it will be easier to explain to the insurance that HPA made a mistake rather than trying to get it changed at that point. Still, we had no news on being retested though.

Note how it says it’s been issued on 30th December. Not true.

5th January (Day 6 of Quarantine)

We were asked to come to the medical room for our retests — finally!

Meanwhile, Georg, a fellow diver went to the medical room and asked to get have his lungs listened to. The doctor gave him a stethoscope and asked him to do it himself.

On the same day, another guy wanted to have his fever checked and was told to come back later. If you couldn’t get any medical attention in that place if you were well enough to ask for it, what about all the people who weren’t well enough to ask to be looked after…?

6th January (Day 7 of Quarantine)

Three out of three retests came back positive. We were unsure what it meant for us, was our quarantine going to be restarted from the date of our positive test? All three of us messaged the medical team asking if our quarantine can be backdated to the start of our symptoms, just as they did for other people.

You guessed correctly, we didn’t get an answer.

7th January (Day 8 of Quarantine)

Dirk, who was also on the boat with us, fainted that morning. He was struggling to get air and Wasan, their next-door neighbour was running to the medical centre to get the doctor‘s attention while his wife stayed with him. “Can he come here for assessment?” the doctor asked. “No! He can not” (did you seriously just ask this?). The doctor and the nurse made their way to his room and seemed rather puzzled about what to do. The doctor was asking why he didn’t know that Dirk was running a high fever for the past 4 days. His wife told him that they had told the other doctor and complained that they should get their communication in order.

Wasan pointed out that Dirk looks like he needs oxygen — yes, it took someone with no medical degree to point out to the doctor that a covid patient struggling to breathe might need some oxygen. “We don’t have any,” they said. Just let that sit for a moment.

Luckily, Dirk began to feel better for a short while (possibly thanks to adrenaline) and soon after a speed boat arrived to take him to a hospital in Malé where he is recovering now.

Later that day, another patient, aged 72, had to be taken to the hospital with 39.7°C fever. We were all shocked and wondered: How could they let it come so far and not transport him to the hospital sooner, especially considering the hospital is over an hour away by speedboat?

8th January (Day 9 of Quarantine)

That morning we received a message from the medical team to come for assessment at 5 pm. “Wow, now they start caring about how we are all doing,” we thought and went to have our blood pressure checked. From that day on we had to report for assessment every day.

On a more positive note: The newly positive people were informed that their quarantine will be backdated to the 2nd of January, the date of symptom onset. Thank god for some good news!!

12th January (Day 13 of Quarantine)

We received news that the two people in the hospital were recovering well and were expected to be released in a couple of days.

13th January (Day 14 of Quarantine)

The UK, where we live, announced that they will require a negative PCR test for arrivals from the 15th of January and we were planning to fly home on the 16th. It was very unlikely that we would test negative on a new PCR test, despite no longer being infectious and we hoped that our quarantine release documents would be enough to get us home. However, the statutory instrument had not been published yet, which left us hanging as to how we will get back home.

After deliberation with the other passengers flying back to the UK, we all decided to take a new PCR test anyway and figure out what we would do when we had the result. We asked the medical team what would happen if we’d test positive on the new test: “No problem, you will be able to leave anyway” they ensured us.

Roger then proceeded to ask for a new PCR test to be done the following day. “You can not do a test anymore as your quarantine has officially ended”, they answered, triggering a rather frustrated response from my partner Roger (his quarantine was officially ending on the 14th). Not knowing what the exact guidance would be, we felt lost and stranded, fearing we were going to be stuck in this place for god knows how long.

14th January (Day 15 of Quarantine)

We woke up that morning to the news that the UK had pushed back the requirement for a negative covid test until the 18th, so it looked like we would be able to go home. Phew!!

Later that day, Dirk was released from the hospital. His quarantine was officially over that day as well, but the hospital insisted they could only release him from the hospital, and he’d have to go back to Fun Island (via a 400$ speedboat) to be released from quarantine and then go back to the airport (via a 400$ speedboat). However, when he arrived, he was informed by the medical team that since he had tested positive in the hospital, he will have to stay for another 7 days. Remember how we were told we can leave anyway even if the release test was positive? Well, turns out the rules changed overnight…

He also told us some stories from his time at the hospital: Despite his insurance reaching out to the hospital to directly pay for the cost of treatment, the hospital refused all communication and insisted for Dirk to pay himself. When he refused and told them to take the payment from the insurance, they ignored him and later woke him up at 2 am to (again) ask for the payment, telling him he won’t be released otherwise.

The other guy, Jan, was also released from the hospital and arrived back on the island. They told him he’d need a negative test to be released and charged him 350USD for a PCR test with a fast turnaround. We had joked that that price probably includes a charge for the test to be negative, but it later came back inconclusive, meaning he had to stay for 7 more days.

16th January (Day 17 of Quarantine)

We were finally released!! In the morning, a speedboat was waiting for us to take us to the airport. When we arrived, someone was waiting for us to take payment for the extra days we stayed at the facility and the speedboat. We did not receive a receipt (surprise!) but we were promised by the Fun Island management to get a full receipt for both our time at Fun Island, as well as the speedboat.

We have all arrived back home and can hopefully look back at this experience with a smile — someday.

Final thoughts

This was not an easy time for any of us. It was a time of uncertainty, anxiety and frustration over the various levels of incompetence with which this situation was handled. But it was also a time for us to come together and to support each other through this situation. The friendships made on this trip will no doubt last longer than they otherwise would ever have.

While a lot of things were poorly handled as I have detailed in this article, a lot of people did their best to support us and make the experience more bearable for us and that deserves a mention as well: