18 living quarters of expatriate workers are being monitored as part of the measure to control the Covid-19 community spread.

Assistant Police Commissioner Ismail Naveen revealed this at a press conference held on Sunday afternoon, adding that a total of 837 workers reside in these 18 quarters.

He said that these places are being monitored as there is a high risk of the virus spreading among migrant workers due to their living conditions, adding that the decision to monitor such vulnerable areas was made to control the community spread.

Noting that their movement in and out of these quarters have been restricted, Naveen stated that the monitoring programme was launched on April 21.

Expatriate workers are made to reside in deplorable conditions without proper sanitation, especially in the capital and this has been subject to criticism from human rights groups; both local and international.

While Maldives Immigration had revealed that 200 workers living in congested spaces were relocated to a facility in Hulhumalé earlier this month, a decongestion plan to move over 1,000 of them was also announced.

Two facilities have been established for their accommodation, while work is underway for the development of housing units in Gulhifalhu and Hulhumalé.

Maldives has reported a total of 214 Covid-19 cases thus far, and a number of them are migrant workers. These include 102 Bangladeshis, 13 Indians and two Sri Lankan nationals as well as one Pakistani national.