6 medical students in Pakistan flying back to Maldives

The Maldivian Foreign Ministry, on Wednesday, announced that six Maldivian medical students in Pakistan were flying back home to Maldives.

The six students are flying back to Maldives with the assistance of the Maldivian government.

They boarded their plane on Tuesday night, and are scheduled to arrive in Maldives this Wednesday night.

Upon arrival to Maldives, the six students will need to undergo quarantine for a 14-day period at a government designated facility, as is now mandatory for all inbound air passengers to Maldives, with the exception of tourists with resort bookings.

Several resort islands, which have been closed down due to lack of bookings over the COVID-19 pandemic, have been repurposed as quarantine facilities to hold inbound passengers.

The Maldivian government has now issued a call for all Maldivian health professionals overseas to return home to Maldives in order to ramp up the national response against the new coronavirus.

Government spokesperson Mabrouq Azeez, at a press briefing held out of the National Emergency Response Center on Sunday, March 22, said medical students were being called in to strengthen the national emergency response so that Maldives was better equipped to deal in case of an escalation of virus cases.

33 of 51 Maldivian doctors in Nepal have already been transported back to Maldives at government expenditure, while 10 more returned to Maldives at their own expense.

They are all currently undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Meanwhile, 17 medical students in Nepal, who had requested assistance to return to Maldives, have been left stranded.

The government has promised to look after their safety and welfare.

The government has also said it would dispatch rescue planes for Maldivian nationals overseas who needed to be evacuated, if and when found necessary.

“We are committed to spending on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our people until our last coin,” said Mabrouq during the last press briefing, held Tuesday night.

13 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Maldives, all of whom are foreign nationals who were either working or vacationing in resorts or safaris. Of the 13 people, five were from Kuredu Island Resort, two from Sandies Bathala, two from Kuramathi Island Resort, two from Anantara Dhigu, and two from Island Safari-1.

Five have since recovered, but continue to be closely monitored at isolation facilities.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that a Maldivian national who resided in the country was one of 50 new confirmed virus cases in the country on Tuesday.