The government of Maldives is working to extend financial assistance to the Maldivian students residing in Wuhan city of Hubei Province, China, revealed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

While the Foreign Ministry announced that consultations are underway with the Chinese government to evacuate the six Maldivians residing in Wuhan, Minister Abdulla Shahid revealed that they are facing challenges due to the city being under lockdown.

The lockdown comes as part of the Chinese government’s efforts to minimize the spread of the deadly coronavirus. As such, entry into Wuhan Province has been prohibited temporarily, under the protocols set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Earlier, the ministry revealed that the Maldivians residing in China have been reported safe. Revealing that they are working jointly with the Maldives Embassy in Beijing, the ministry via a statement revealed that they are closely monitoring the condition of Maldivians residing in China, where coronavirus is spreading widely since a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China was discovered.

This has been linked to a novel coronavirus, which consecutively resulted in over 140 cases and a few fatalities since the epidemic began in December 2019, revealed the Health Protection Agency (HPA) earlier this week.

Foreign Ministry also urged all Maldivians residing in China to register at the Maldives Embassy at the earliest.

On Thursday, HPA revealed that there have not been any positive cases for coronavirus in the Maldives thus far.

The Ministry of Health and relevant authorities have begun taking adequate measures in order to curb an outbreak of the virus in Maldives, which is expected following the high tourist arrivals from China.

The likelihood of infection through processed food from food handlers and market workers is high, with reports having attributed the outbreak to the country’s seafood and animal markets. While preparations are underway on the recommendations from WHO, Maldivians travelling to China are advised to take precautionary measures like avoiding animals, dead or alive, animal markets and even coming in contact with infected people.

The death toll in china has reached almost 50, reports international media.