The government might have to halt repatriation of Maldivians abroad during the coming weeks, says Covid-19 taskforce’s spokesperson.

Mohamed Mabrook Aziz made the statement at the National Emergency Operations’ Center (NEOC) nightly Covid-19 press conference on Tuesday.

Noting that there are a number of students stranded abroad that want to return home, the spokesperson said that work is underway to repatriate them together with the foreign ministry.

However, he stressed that the next two weeks will be critical for Malé City in the fight against Covid-19. He added that “coming to Malé right now will not be the safest”.

Mabrook also noted that the quarantine facilities “are currently full” due to the current situation in the country, and stressed that experts predict that more people from the city will need to be placed under quarantine in the coming days.

Hence, he said that they might have to halt repatriation work for the time being.

While Mabrook said this, authorities are working to bring over 30 students from Ukraine later this week, via a Ukrainian flight that is confirmed to repatriate its citizens from the Maldives.