ABSTRACT
The outbreak of COVID-19, a highly infectious respiratory disease from a novel coronavirus that was first detected in Wuhan city, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, has since caused a severe outbreak worldwide, prompting WHO to declare the COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be global, both the World Bank and Asian Development Bank assess the Maldives as one of the worst-hit in the world given the high exposure of the Maldivian economy to external shocks, which shares relatively similar conditions like other small island states. This chapter includes the measures taken to control and contain the outbreak, including the establishment of NEOC and its transition to HEOC. It also highlights the key legal frameworks governing response to public health emergencies, the socioeconomic impacts, the effects on the education and public health sector, climate change and environmental challenges, the migrant's situation, and a review of the foreign aid received. This chapter concludes with brief suggestions to strengthen the COVID-19 response in the Maldives. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.