Coronavirus: seven Maldivians in Wuhan willing to return

It has been revealed that seven out of the nine Maldivians residing in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China is willing to return to Maldives.

The reveal was made via a press conference on Thursday afternoon held jointly by Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, Health Minister Abdulla Ameen and Tourism Minister Ali Waheed.

This comes at a time the death toll in china has reached over 100 with over 7,000 people having tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, which is spreading widely since a cluster of pneumonia cases was discovered in Wuhan.

Earlier, the government of Maldives decided to allow free return for all Maldivians residing in specific regions of China; Chongqing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Xian. These are the destinations the country’s national airline Maldivian, flies to.

Maldivians residing in China were requested to contact the Maldives Embassy in China and the ministry revealed that seven out of nine Maldivians residing in Wuhan wishes to return.

As such, the process will be carried out while taking the people's safety into account, added the minister, who revealed that the seven Maldivians will be evacuated to another country where tests will be carried out on them and their return to the country will be guaranteed after results come in.

The government began efforts to extend financial assistance to the Maldivian students residing in Wuhan 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). This has proven to be challenging to evacuate Maldivians in the region, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The government has been extending financial aid of USD 50 per Maldivian, per day. Aid is being extended to Maldivians residing in Wuhan, said the minister.

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 their condition.

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 as the infection continues to spread over several countries.

Authorities have revealed that there have not been any positive cases for coronavirus in the Maldives thus far, however, 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.