Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, announced that a large number of the 'care package' facilitations were distributed to the intended recipients.
According to the Foreign Ministry, of the total of 1153 packages it received, 887 packages were delivered.
The Ministry noted being unable to contact some of the families, due to them having returned to Maldives prior to the package delivery. However, it stated, efforts are underway to deliver the remaining 266 packages.
- Sri Lanka: 620 packages
- Malaysia: 452 packages
- India: 79 packages
Arrangements were made with the national airline 'Maldivian' to facilitate care package deliveries for Maldivians stranded in Colombo in Sri Lanka, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Trivandrum and Kochin in India.
As all three countries remain under lockdown, the Ministry cited unforeseen challenges in distributing the parcels, including limited delivery times in Malaysia and a securing a special permit from the Indian Government, in addition to various checkposts in Sri Lanka.
Under the Foreign Ministry's cargo assistance guidelines, Maldivian families are only authorized to send prescription medications unavailable in the country and other urgent items.
Items that are authorized for export:
- Tuna cans
- Noodles
- Fish paste 'Rihaakuru' (packed by MIFCO or ENZI)
- Packaged food items
Items on the prohibited list include short eats, cake, fruits and vegetables, raw fish and cash in any currency.
The deliverables will be received and disseminated by the Maldivian High Commissions in their respective countries. Hence, the ministry urged families to state addresses and contact details clearly.
With Maldives recording its first local transmission of COVID-19 on Wednesday, HPA issued a Red alert for Male' City and placed the greater Male' region under lockdown for 24 hours, beginning 1530 hrs on Wednesday afternoon. The lockdown prohibits all civilians sans those with special permits to leave their residences, as well as halting all land and sea transportation in or out of the area.
Maldives now has 23 confirmed and seven active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 16 recoveries.
The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected over two million people and claimed over 134,616 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 510,350 people have recovered.
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