Maldives Immigration revealed that a total of 490 foreigners were repatriated on Sunday.
According to Immigration, these individuals consist of 198 Indian citizens evacuated by sea and 292 Sri Lankan citizens repatriated on a flight.
Lockdown measures implemented across the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic left several individuals stranded in foreign countries.
The virus outbreak in capital Male' severely affected its migrant worker population, the majority of whom are Bangladeshi nationals living in highly congested quarters where it is impossible to reduce contact or exercise social distancing. Their often small-spaced living conditions have been described by local and international civil society organizations as, "claustrophobic", "unsanitary" and "overcrowded".
As per current statistics, migrant workers consist of almost 65 percent of the positive cases identified in the country, with Indian citizens and Sri Lankan nationals accounting for 207 and 12 cases respectively.
Maldives presently records a total of 2,203 confirmed cases, out of which 387 are active cases of COVID-19. The country records 1,803 recoveries and eight fatalities so far.
WHO has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 9 million people and claimed over 470,700 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, 4.8 million people have recovered.
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