Planning Your Vacay to Soneva? Here’s how Soneva Has Embraced the New Normal

Tuesday 23rd of June 2020

Planning Your Vacay to Soneva? Here’s how Soneva Has Embraced the New Normal

Soneva, a leading resort chain found by Sonu and Eva in the Maldives, is ready to welcome back guests after they have embraced the new normal at all 3 resorts- Soneva Fushi, Soneva Jani and Soneva Kiri. Soneva’s way of operating and welcoming new guests have been put together after consulting leading experts in both virology and infectious diseases in the United States, Singapore, India and United Kingdom.

Your Arrival and Welcome

You have the option of a VIP arrival, where you are received by a private car at the steps of the plane. You will be tested on arrival and immediately offered a mask. You are requested that you wear this whenever you are in presence of other people until your test results are received. On landing, you will be greeted at the private plane by a Mr/Ms Friday who will be handling all arrivals for that day and who will take you to the private island. They will be wearing protective equipment.

You will receive the usual Soneva welcome including the shoe bag to put your shoes in. The resort requests that you stay in the privacy of your beach, your pool and your villa until test results arrive and they are negative. This takes no longer than 6 hours or 24 hours maximum. When you get the results and if they are negative, Soneva hosts will come to your villa to extend a warm welcome.

Staying at the Resort

Your villa will have a thermometer and you are required to take the daily thermometer check. Each morning, your Mr/Ms Friday will be in touch to ask for the results. On the 4th day, a further real time PCR test will be carried out. At Soneva, all island are in the One Island One Resort concept. The goal is to make all of Soneva’s private islands COVID free environments so that guests can truly relax and engage with hosts and fellow guests, whether it’s on the sandbank the Den or anywhere else. The resorts are targeting low air transmission between person to person because anyone who has any sign of fever coughs or sneezes regularly, will be asked to isolate until symptoms improve. The tables at the restaurant will be separated by at least 2 meters. However, Soneva magic is dining in the open.

Safety at Soneva

In a Hong Kong study on 318 distinct outbreaks in China, involving 3 or more cases, all but one occurred in indoor environments. Even though according to recent research by United States Bio Defense and Counter Measure Center in Maryland, the half-life of a virus in our climate condition is one hour and if exposed to UVA 2 mins we will still maintain extremely high standards of hygiene to eliminate any risk of the virus remaining on the surfaces. Soneva’s best practices have been derived from the CDC guidelines. And because of the care and wellness you will receive from the team, it is unlikely that you will develop severe symptoms.

When you are at a Soneva resort, you will be in the sun and will generate a lot of Vitamin D3. The healthy food that the resorts serve, whether it is the Ayurvedic Elixirs at breakfast, Andrographis Paniculata tea which is an anti-viral herb and known Ayurvedic booster, other healthy anti-viral ingredients used such turmeric, garlic and black pepper will build up your immune system.

Hospitalizing Guests

However, if a case arises in which you need to be hospitalized, the Maldives is fortunate enough to have built up sufficient hospital and medical capacity. The hospital on Eydhafushi, the neighboring island to Soneva Fushi in Maldives, has been extended with an ICU that has 20 beds. In the entire Maldives, even at its peak, only a small fraction of the hospital and ventilator capacity was used.