159 Maldivians evacuated from Bangalore and Cochin

159 people were evacuated from India on Tuesday.

The national airline, Maldivian’s Public Relations and Communications Manager Moosa Waseem told RaajjeMV that the flight carrying 159 Maldivians evacuated from Bangalore and Cochin landed at Velana International Airport (VIA) at around 1pm.

All returnees were financially supported by state-run Aasandha Company Ltd and National Social Protection Agency (NSPA), while in the neighboring nation.

While a 21-day nationwide lockdown was announced in India on March 24, this has since been extended to May 3.

While the government’s Covid-19 spokesperson Mohamed Mabrook Aziz announced that over 50 Maldivians will be evacuated from India at Monday night's press conference, he also revealed that work is underway to evacuate those in Bangladesh as well.

However, Mabrook said that the date for this repatriation flight is yet to be determined.

Maldivian authorities made the decision to quarantine all returnees from abroad, for a 14-day period at government designated places, and to test them for Covid-19 before release.

While there are a number of Maldivians that wish to return, Mabrook said that this is subject to space availability; a number of resorts have been offered to the government for quarantine facilities.

In addition to India, where they have been three repatriation flights, Maldivians have been evacuated from Sri Lanka and Malaysia.