Coronavirus: thousands of migrant workers in Maldives stranded as tourism dries up

The shores of the tourist paradise have been empty for weeks since a government order to shut all resorts over the Covid-19 pandemic

About half of the 150,000 people in Male, the capital, are workers from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka living in crowded alleys that are a haven for the virus

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Migrant workers gather at a balcony at their living quarters in Male. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:00pm, 26 May 2020Updated: 4:00pm, 26 May 2020

Tens of thousands of impoverished foreign labourers have been left stranded and ostracised in one of the world’s most densely packed cities as the tourist paradise of the Maldives battles the novel coronavirus.

The turquoise waters and pristine beaches that draw honeymoon couples from around the world have been empty for weeks since a government order to close all resorts. That has left an army of migrant workers jobless.

Like Singapore, which recorded a large number of coronavirus cases among migrants living in tightly-packed dorms, the Maldives is heavily dependent on foreign labour.

About half of the 150,000 people in the two square kilometres that make up the capital, Male, are workers from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka living in teeming alleys that are a haven for the virus.

Foreign workers gather in an alleyway of an accommodation block in Male on May 9, 2020. Photo: AFP

“There is huge uncertainty and panic,” said Zakir Hossain, 39, who had worked in a Male restaurant until March’s shutdown.

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