New Delhi, March 11: India has undertaken massive evacuation operations from several countries amid the COVID-19 outbreak to bring back Indian citizens as well as foreign nationals stuck in coronavirus-hit countries. So far, India has evacuated 948 passengers from countries that have been affected by coronavirus. According to a latest update by the government, of the 948 people, 900 are Indian citizens while 48 belong to different nationalities. The passengers from other nations  include the ones from Maldives, Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, USA, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa and Peru. Coronavirus: Total Positive Cases, Visa Restrictions and All You Need to Know About COVID-19 Outbreak in India.

Air India Operates Two Special Flights From Wuhan

As Wuhan city in Hubei province of China became the epicenter of the COVID-19, there were hundreds of Indians stuck in the city, Air India operated two special flights for the evacuation efforts which brought back 654 passengers that included 647 Indian citizens. The first batch consisting of 324 Indians were evacuated from Wuhan, China on February 1. 104 of these were quarantined for monitoring at ITBP Chhawla camp and the rest 220 were housed in the army facility at Manesar.

The second batch of 330 passengers (including 7 Maldivian citizens and two Indian Embassy officials who were on the ground to coordinate the evacuation efforts) arrived in India on February 3. 300 of these (including 7 Maldivians) were housed at ITBP Chhawla Camp and 30 were shifted to Manesar facility for monitoring. Air India Issues Alert For Travellers On Board February 25 Flight AI 154 From Vienna to Delhi After Man on Board Tested Positive for COVID-19.

India Helps Indians in COVID-Hit Iran

As Iran faced a COVID-19 outbreak, India began to ensure safety and security of its citizens in the country. Indian nationals in Iran include pilgrims, students and fishermen. On March 7, 108 samples were received from Iran. These samples are being tested at the laboratory of AIIMS. Also, six scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have been stationed in Iran.

Equipment and reagents have also been dispatched to enable them to setup a lab. The first batch of 58 evacuees from Iran has arrived on 10th March, 2020 with 25 men, 31 women and 2 children on board. All evacuees are asymptomatic at present.

In addition, for the case involving the Japanese Cruise Ship, Diamond Princess, on February 27, Air India flight carried an evacuation operation bringing back 124 passengers including 5 foreign nationals from Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa and Peru, from Port of Yokohama in Japan. The evacuees are housed at army facility in Manesar. They have tested negative in the first test. 119 Indians From Quarantined Japan Ship Land In Delhi On Air India Flight.

As a measure of prevention, the Government has issued a travel advisory saying passengers with travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany should undergo self-imposed quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival. Moreover, their employers should facilitate work-from-home for such employees during this period.

In India, there are 60 positive cases of COVID-19 in the country so far till March 11, 2020, including the 3 cases from Kerala discharged earlier. 10 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since an official update by the government on Tuesday. Among the 10 cases, 8 cases are from Kerala, one from Rajasthan and one from Delhi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 11, 2020 05:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).