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Bangladesh govt to send relief aid for expats in Maldives

Shahudha Mohamed
14 April 2020, MVT 12:40
Foreign workers at Galolhu Stadium. PHOTO: HUSSAIN WAHEED/ MIHAARU
Shahudha Mohamed
14 April 2020, MVT 12:40

The government of Bangladesh has announced that relief goods will be provided to the country's expatriate workers in Maldives.

Local media Mihaaru reported that an aid vessel is scheduled to leave Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 20 carrying food and medical supplies.

According to a Bangladesh High Commission, discussions were underway with the Maldivian government to provide aid to Bangladeshi expatriate workers in the archipelago. The embassy added that media will be informed about the developments within about two days.

Bangladeshi media Dhaka Tribune reported that the country's Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief allocated the relief materials as per the requisition issued by the Foreign Ministry.

"We are yet to know the number of COVID-19 infected there [the Maldives] as well as the number of individuals who should be helped", said senior secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Md Shah Kamal.

The media further noted that around 40 tons of rice, 10 tons of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and lentils each, and 5 tons of onions, eggs and vegetables each will be distributed to the Bangladeshi expatriate workers in Maldives, according to a letter sent to the Department of Disaster Management mentioning the allocation of relief supplies.

The letter also stated that the Bangladesh government will purchase the relief materials worth BDT 5,000,000 (USD 59226.45), along with other necessary medications, masks, and hand sanitizers.

The expatriate working population in Maldives, comprising mostly of Bangladeshis, exceeds 100,000. Many foreign labourers residing in capital Male' live in congested spaces, highly vulnerable to the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 spread in case of an outbreak. The government this week began a decongesting program to relocate those living in congested spaces to accommodation blocks in reclaimed suburb Hulhumale' and Gulhifalhu.

Maldives now has 20 confirmed and six active cases of COVID-19, with a total of 14 recoveries.

The World Health Organization has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected over 1.92 million people and claimed over 119,718 lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 452,188 people have recovered.

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