Police rescue expat who jumped off Sinamale' Bridge

Maldives Police Service, on Saturday, rescued an expatriate worker who jumped into the ocean from Sinamale' Bridge.

Authorities confirmed that the Indian male, aged 31, was rescued on a Police launch and is currently receiving medical attention at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

According to Police, reports of an individual jumping off the bridge were received at approximately 1546hrs.

No further details about the incident were revealed.

With stress-inducing factors like an unstable job market, various other financial difficulties, precarious lockdown circumstances and more, all adding to vulnerable minds, the state has already reported mental illness across the country is on the rise.

Moreover, the COVID-19 outbreak in the Maldives’ capital disproportionately affected its migrant worker population, the majority of whom are Bangladeshi nationals, as the lockdown imposed on April 15 cut off income for many expatriates, leaving them penniless and starving.

Most of the immigrant workers are living in highly congested quarters where it is impossible to reduce contact or exercise social distancing, increasing the risk of being exposed to the virus as well. Their often small-spaced living conditions have been described by local and international civil society organizations as, "claustrophobic", "unsanitary" and "overcrowded".

Maldives recorded its first case involving a migrant worker, who was from Bangladesh, on April 19. Since, the total number of Bangladeshi workers that have tested positive for COVID-19 have surpassed 1,000, while almost 200 Indian nationals have contracted the virus as well.

Presently, Maldives records 1,884 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 1,159 active cases, 717 recoveries and eight fatalities. Capital Malé, one of the most densely populated places in the world, has recorded a significant increase in COVID-19 cases since recording its first local transmission on April 15.

As per current statistics, migrant workers consist of approximately 65 percent of the positive cases identified in the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 6.8 million people and claimed over 398,000 lives around the world. However, 3.3 million people have recovered from the infection.