Male: Nine persons, including five Bangladeshi nationals, tested positive of COVID19  in capital Male bringing the number of cases to 74 in the island city.  The capital had seen the first positive case last Wednesday and has seen a spike of cases since then. Over 1400 people have been sent to quarantine to prevent the spread.

 Meanwhile, a consignment of  50 thousand Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets approved by the Indian government to Maldives, arrived last night at Male. High Commission of India in Male said in a statement that the delivery was made following a request from the Maldivian government. It said while the HCQ was approved last Saturday, the shipment arrived less than 48 hours after Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on the Maldives health sector as well as its economic growth. 

The statement said that the quick dispatch of these tablets sheds light on the time-tested bonds of friendship as well as the speed and synergy that defines present-day bilateral partnership with India’s “neighborhood first” policy and Maldives’ “India first” policy.

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