Congestion issues of migrants to be resolved during lockdown

National Emergency Operations Center has stated that one of the reasons why the lockdown was extended on the capital was to relocate migrant workers living in the capital in congested quarters.

In a press conference tonight, NEOC spokesperson Mabrouq Azeez stated that the Technical Advisory Group had kept in mind two motives when extending the lockdown. One was to reduce the number of direct contacts and effectively contain the clusters.

The second was to resolve the issue of migrant workers living in the capital in overcrowded situations.

“The second reason is due to the congestion in Male’, they (TAG Team) intend to formulate work on reducing the congestion and carry out the plans.” Said Mabrouq.

95 migrant workers tested positive for the virus from one location today. 23 locations where migrants reside are also being kept under monitoring by the authorities.

Mabrouq stated that authorities were working on testing the residents while the Maldives Red Crescent was providing assistance to them.

The majority of the positive cases in the country are foreigners with the overwhelming majority originating among the Bangladeshi community in the capital. Many migrants are forced to live in poor conditions of hygiene in the capital due to different reasons.

The government has previously announced that a worker’s village is set to be built in Gulhufalhu that can house around 40,000.