JOIN USCoronavirus: Many Indians left in Italy even after 478 return
India has many more citizens left in Italy, even as it evacuated another batch of 263 of its nationals from the country, where COVID-19 caused more deaths than even the pandemic’s “ground zero” China.
An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which had left for Rome on Saturday, returned to New Delhi, with 263 Indian citizens – mostly students – from Italy. The evacuees were all tested for Covid-19 infection and were found to be negative. They were still not allowed to go home and were rather quarantined for 14 days at a facility set up by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at Chhawla in South West Delhi. They will be discharged from the facility, only if they are found to be COVID-19 negative in the tests that would be conducted after 14 days, officials told the DH.
“Happy & (and) relieved to be back!” the Embassy of India in Rome tweeted posting a picture of the evacuees after their arrival in New Delhi. “All Indian students who were confirmed COVID19 (Covid-19) negative on (the) basis of (the) tests performed by Indian medical team that visited Rome, have reached India and will undergo the mandatory quarantine.”
Italy has been the worst COVID-19 affected country outside China, with nearly 43000 people infected and over 4800 dead across the country according to the latest report.
Many Indian citizens are still left in Italy though. They may not be able to come back home anytime soon. New Delhi already restricted entry of any of its nationals as well as of foreign citizens from Europe, in view of the rapid spread of the pandemic across the continent. The Government also announced that no passenger would be allowed to disembark from a scheduled international commercial passenger aircraft in any airport in India after 1:30 am on Monday till the same time on March 31.
Bharath Gadupuri, a research engineer based in Emilia Romagna in northern Italy, sought help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and New Delhi’s envoy to Rome on Twitter. “What about the students who (are) lock down (locked down) in Emilia Romagna, Italy without COVID-19 negative certificate, we are unable to go (to) Rome & (and) Milan for the test, how we can travel back to India, any possibilities?”
India had on March 6 made it mandatory for all its nationals in Italy and South Korea to have COVID-19 negative certificates to board aircraft to come back home. Since Indians found it difficult to obtain such certificates in Italy, New Delhi sent a medical team to Rome to collect their swab samples, which were brought back to and tested in India for COVID-19 infection. Only 478 of the ones, who were tested negative, have so far been evacuated in two batches – 215 people in the first batch on March 25 and 263 more in the second batch on Sunday. The medical team was based at the Embassy of India in Rome, apparently making it difficult for Indians stuck in other locked down areas in Italy to get themselves tested.
“The situation is very critical here, Plz (please) do something,” tweeted Gadupuri.
The Indian students in southern Italy too found it difficult to reach the Embassy of India in Rome to get tested and qualify for evacuation. “I request you to take a note that there are no bus services from Palermo to reach Rome. By train also it's not safe because it takes 12 hours. I request you to make some arrangements for people who are in south Italy.” Paresh, a student apparently based at Palermo in southern Italy, posted on Twitter, drawing the attention of the Government of India.
India gifted a consignment of masks, gloves and other medical equipment to Italy as a mark of solidarity in the fight against the pandemic. The aircraft, which the Air India had sent to bring home the evacuees, had carried the consignment from New Delhi to Rome.