COVID-19 Concern: 211 Indian Students Flown Back From Virus-Hit Italy

New Delhi: A special Air India carrying 211 Indian students and seven other passengers, who were stranded in coronavirus-hit Italy after flights were cancelled, landed here on Sunday.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the AI flight, which had taken off from Milan on Saturday, carried 218 Indians. They will be shifted to Indo-Tibetan Border Police’s camp in Delhi’s Chhawla area, he said.

“All will be quarantined for 14 days. The government is committed to reaching out to Indians in distress, wherever they are,” the minister said.

The Indian consulate in Milan tweeted its gratitude to all those who had helped them evacuate the Indian nationals.

“211 students & 7 compassionate cases departed by AI flight #Milan. All those who helped us through this difficult situation, special thanks to @airindiain team & Italian authorities. Consulate will continue to ensure the welfare of all Indians in northern #Italy,” the Indian consulate had tweeted.

Earlier on Sunday, more than 230 people were also brought back from Iran, another epicentre of coronavirus. They were then taken to an Army quarantine facility in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

India evacuated its nationals out after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic and said Europe is the new epicentre of the virus.

Italy remains the worst affected country in Europe and second only to China, where the highly infectious virus first emerged.

The death toll in Italy’s coronavirus outbreak rose to 1,441 on Saturday, up almost 14% from the 1,266 total reported a day earlier, officials said.