Male: President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced that a large number of undocumented migrant workers will be shifted to new living quarters outside of the capital, and that 1500 migrant workers would be repatriated to their country.

Addressing the nation on Monday regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, President Solih noted that a large number of expatriate workers in the country are vulnerable to COVID-19 due to overcrowded accommodations.

The president said the government is seeking a solution for the predicament, and noted the efforts being made towards alleviating these conditions. In this regard, he stated that work is underway to construct better accommodations and that some 3000 expatriate workers would be shifted to the new living quarters during the first phase of this project. He also stated that, following talks with the Bangladeshi Government, 1500 unregistered Bangladeshi citizens would be repatriated to their country in the following week.

551 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Maldives thus far, out of which 361 were foreigners. The government made several efforts to register undocumented expatriates prior to the COVID-19 pandmic. The Economy Ministry had previously revealed that over 20,000 expatriates were registered under the efforts.

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