Social Council to provide for expats, locals in need during Ramadan

The Social Council of the President’s Office will provide food and other essential needs to expatriates and locals in need during the upcoming Islamic holy month of Ramadan, National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) declared Wednesday.

Communications Undersecretary at the President’s Office Mabrouq Abdul Azeez made the statement during the daily press conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in response to a reporter’s question, which raised concerns that expatriate workers, known to usually break their fasts at the Iftars provided at mosques during Ramadan, would not receive that arrangement this year amidst the ongoing lockdown of the Greater Male’ Area.

Stating that both expatriates and locals would face greater challenges with the increase in demand for food during Ramadan, Mabrouq stated that the Social Council was already working to provide solutions. He assured that the council would ensure that expatriates and Maldivians were receiving enough food for both Suhoor and Iftar, with Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services leading the initiative.

Mabrouq further disclosed that the government was working with the Maldivian Red Cresecent to collect information on expatriate contractors, identify labour quarters, and provide expatriates with the relevant information. He stated that the bodies in question will work together to provide food and other essentials to those identified as being in need.

Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the government has made a number of moves to ensure the safety of expatriate workers, who are often quartered in small congested spaces where infections could spread out of control. These efforts include the recent relocation of expats to safer living facilities, as well as imposing stricter guidelines on their accommodations.

Meanwhile, the government has assured that Maldives presently has sufficient stock of essentials, including staple foods. According to the state, efforts are underway to import more food products into the country.

Maldives at present records 85 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 45 are foreigners. There are total 68 active and two probable cases, while 16 have recovered.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected over 2.5 million people and claimed over 178,500 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 701,500 people have recovered.