by Krishnan Nayar NEW DELHI, (Pakistan Point News - 12th Mar, 2020) India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced on Wednesday that it had evacuated 948 individuals from coronavirus, COVID-19, affected countries The Ministry said 900 of those it had evacuated - using special planes and trained personnel - were Indian nationals. The remaining individuals hailed from Maldives, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, the United States, Peru and China. The evacuation of the foreign nationals by the Indian government were considered as part of a "humanitarian gesture" to ensure the safety and well-being of the global community, the ministry noted.
The evacuees were brought to New Delhi, and placed in isolation facilities for 14 days, the Indian health ministry affirmed, noting that the individuals were so far tested twice for coronavirus.
According to the ministry, individuals were evacuated from various coronavirus hotspot countries, of which 58 individuals were evacuated from Iran, 324 from Wuhan city in China, and 112 from the rest of Hubei province in China.
The ministry also coordinated the evacuation of 330 individuals from other Chinese cities, as well as 124 from Japan.
India is not leaving anything to chance and preparing quarantine and treatment facilities on a big scale, fearing the eventuality of a spread in the coronavirus disease. The Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have created two isolation and treatment facilities capable of housing up to 800 people near the national capital of Delhi.
These facilities are in addition to several hospitals that have been asked to set apart designated floors for isolating suspected COVID-19 patients.
