Hundreds of tourists are still stranded in the Maldives, an island nation known for its luxury resorts

(CNN) — There are worse places to wait out a pandemic.

Hundreds of tourists are still stuck in the Maldives, Ali Waheed, the country’s tourism minister told CNN’s Richard Quest, more than a month after the novel coronavirus arrived there.

“We believe they are like locals, they are the people who have brought this country to where it is now,” Waheed said.

The island nation in the Indian Ocean is known for its luxury resorts, and the tourism industry there has been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic as the country closed its national borders and canceled flights.

“Everyone says they want to be stuck on a tropical island, until you’re actually stuck,” Olivia De Freitas told the paper. “It only sounds good because you know you can leave.”