7 Maldivians, rescued from coronavirus-hit China, set to go back home after quarantine ends

Seven Maldivian nationals evacuated from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan were discharged from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)-managed quarantine facility in Chhawla on Monday night.

Having tested negative for coronavirus, all seven Maldivians will be departing for their homeland on Tuesday.

The seven Maldivians had arrived in India alongside 323 Indians on a special Air India flight which had been sent to China as part of an evacuation operation undertaken by the Indian government. A total of 640 Indians had been evacuated from China in two special operations.

Immediately upon their arrival in the national capital, the Maldivians and the Indians were sent to quarantine facilities run by the Indian Army and ITBP, where they stayed for a period of more than two weeks.

Coronavirus first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has since then killed more than 1800 people in that country alone, while cases have been registered in several countries across the world, including India.