The government of Maldives has reached the decision to allow free return for all Maldivians residing in specific regions of China.

The reveal was made by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid on Tuesday, via Twitter.

His Tweet reads that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih decided to provide free return for Maldivians through five destinations the country’s national airline, Maldivian flies to.

The five destinations are Chongqing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Xian.

Maldivians who wish to return to Maldives are requested to contact the Maldives Embassy in China, revealed the minister.

The government began efforts to extend financial assistance to the Maldivian students residing in Wuhan city of Hubei Province, China on Saturday after the country announced a lock-down as part of the 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).

Shahid also revealed that they are facing challenges in evacuating Maldivians residing in Wuhan, due to the city being under lock-down.

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.

Foreign Ministry also urged all Maldivians residing in China, as well as several other countries to register at the respective Maldives embassies 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 death toll in china has reached over 100, reports international media, with 4,610 people having tested positive for the infection.