Chinese Ambassador to Maldives, Zhang Lizhong met with Speaker and former President, Mohamed Nasheed, on Tuesday, to share the latest details in the work to contain the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The deadly disease emerged from China’s Wuhan City at the end of 2019, and has killed over 2,000 people since, majority from the southeastern nation.

Ambassador Lizhong tweeted that the speaker had emphasized “the need of sympathy and support to China at this special time”.

This being said, the coronavirus outbreak has seen a rise of xenophobia and anti-Asian racism across the world.

Nasheed also expressed hope to win the battle against coronavirus at the earliest.

While the coronavirus was first reported from Wuhan City, seven out of the nine Maldivians residing there were evacuated earlier this month, with the assistance and support from India and China.

Ambassador Lizhong said that the two that chose to stay in Wuhan "will be take care of."