Care packages to families in Sri Lanka must be limited to 15 kilos

Care packages to families in Sri Lanka must be limited to 15 kilos

Foreign Ministry, on Monday, announced that the care packages which can be sent to Maldivian nationals in neighboring Sri Lanka on cargo flights operated by the national airline Maldivian must be limited to 15 kilos per family.

Following the suspension of commercial flights between Maldives and its top sources of imports, Maldivian had made the decision to use its passenger flights to transport cargo into the country.

It now operates freight planes to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo every Sunday, and the Maldivian government, on Monday, announced the decision to allow the opportunity for care packages to be sent to Maldivian nationals in Sri Lanka by their families on board the cargo flights.

The Foreign Ministry released details in an announcement later on Monday evening.

Those who wish to send care packages have been instructed to fill out a form on the Foreign Ministry website, and submit it online before every Thursday.

The items which can be sent must be pharmaceutical products which aren’t available in Sri Lanka, and other essential products.

ITEMS WHICH CAN BE SENT:

• Prescribed pharmaceuticals
• Cases on canned tuna
• Cases of noodles
• Rihakuru (only jars with original MIFCO or Enzi packaging)
• Fish packets/other packed food items available for sale

ITEMS WHICH CANNOT BE SENT:

• Money
• Raw fish
• Cake
• Shorteats
• Fruits
• Vegetables

Care packages can be handed over to the Maldivian city check-in office located in the Greater Male’ Bus Station from 9 am to 12 pm every Saturday.

Since the space on the cargo flights are limited, priority will be given based on order of form submission.

The weight of the care package must be limited to 15 kilos per family.

Neighboring Sri Lanka hosts some 15,000 Maldivian nationals. It has closed its borders, and has imposed curfews to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Many Maldivian nationals who reside in Sri Lanka report the measures have resulted long queues outside shops to purchase even the most essential of products. They sometimes need to wait in queue for hours, and by the time they manage to enter the shop, the products they want are no longer available.

122 have tested positive for the virus in Sri Lanka, and the death toll currently stands at one.