More than 10000 Indians in Gulf countries test Covid-19 positive, 84 casualties so far; lakhs await evacuation
More than 3 lakh people from the Gulf have registered for evacuation but the Indian government has said it will bring back only those citizens who have pressing reasons.
New Delhi: The coronavirus pandemic has been spelling doom for Indians lately, and on a day the country recorded its biggest spike in cases and deaths in a 24-hour period, news from the Gulf has dealt a huge morale beating to the counter efforts by medics to battle the deadly Covid-19 virus.
A report has claimed that over 10,000 Indian nationals staying/working in the Gulf countries have tested positive for the infectious disease while 84 others have died so far.
More than 10,000 Indians in Gulf countries were found to have contracted the coronavirus infection, while 84 of them have succumbed to the deadly disease, news agency
PTI quoted officials as saying.
This comes at a time the Ministry of Home Affairs is organising the world’s largest evacuation during this Covid-19 crisis. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has planned to operate 64 flights from May 7-13 to bring back around 15,000 stranded Indian nationals from abroad.
Shockingly, more than 3 lakh people from the Gulf have registered for evacuation but the Indian government has said it will bring back only those citizens who have pressing reasons, such as medical emergency, expiry of visas and concerns of deportation, the government sources claimed.
The Gulf is home to a large diaspora of Indian nationals. | File image | Photo Credit: AP
New Delhi: The coronavirus pandemic has been spelling doom for Indians lately, and on a day the country recorded its biggest spike in cases and deaths in a 24-hour period, news from the Gulf has dealt a huge morale beating to the counter efforts by medics to battle the deadly Covid-19 virus.
A report has claimed that over 10,000 Indian nationals staying/working in the Gulf countries have tested positive for the infectious disease while 84 others have died so far.
More than 10,000 Indians in Gulf countries were found to have contracted the coronavirus infection, while 84 of them have succumbed to the deadly disease, news agency
PTI quoted officials as saying.
This comes at a time the Ministry of Home Affairs is organising the world’s largest evacuation during this Covid-19 crisis. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has planned to operate 64 flights from May 7-13 to bring back around 15,000 stranded Indian nationals from abroad.
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Shockingly, more than 3 lakh people from the Gulf have registered for evacuation but the Indian government has said it will bring back only those citizens who have pressing reasons, such as medical emergency, expiry of visas and concerns of deportation, the government sources claimed.
“We will be bringing back only Indian citizens, no OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card holders. All crew who will be travelling will be tested and they will be Covid-19 negative certified,” officials were quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
It has been notified that during the evacuation process, the flights will ferry Indians from 12 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the Maldives, Singapore and the United States.
The Gulf is home to a large diaspora of Indian nationals, especially from the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Millions of Indians contribute extensively to the economy in Gulf countries and India shares a great diplomatic relationship with most countries in the region.