India evacuates nationals from coronavirus-hit Iran

India has evacuated 58 of its nationals from Iran, which has now turned into the third most coronavirus-affected country outside China.

A C-17 Globemaster aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) returned from Tehran to Hindan airbase at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. It had onboard 58 Indian pilgrims, who were stranded in Iran as the commercial air services between the two nations were suspended in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The evacuees included 25 men, 31 women, and two children.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the Government would continue to work on the evacuation of the rest of the Indian citizens stranded in Iran in subsequent batches. “The IAF aircraft has landed. Mission completed. On to the next,” he posted on Twitter after the C-17 Globemaster returned from Tehran.

The 58 Indian nationals, who returned home from the Persian Gulf nation, were immediately quarantined in a medical facility set up by the IAF at its Hindan airbase itself, officials said.

They will be discharged only if they are tested negative for COVID-19 infection after 14 days. In case any of them is found to be infected by the virus after 14 days, the authorities would then take a call on extending the quarantine and sending the infected for medical treatment.

A spokesperson of the IAF said that the aircraft also brought from Tehran to Hindan swab samples of 529 other Indians stranded in Iran.

Once the samples are tested for COVID-19 in a lab in Delhi, the Government would move for evacuating the remaining Indian nationals from Iran in subsequent batches, said officials.

New Delhi already decided that only the ones who had been tested negative for the novel coronavirus would be airlifted.

There are over 1000 Indian citizens – students and pilgrims – are stranded in Iran. Some fishermen from Kerala are stranded in Kish Island of the West Asian nation.

In its March 9 report on COVID-19 outbreak, the World Health Organization reported that altogether 6566 people had so far been infected by the virus in Iran. The outbreak had caused 194 deaths in the West Asian nation.

In India, altogether 44 people have so far been tested positive for COVID-19.

India earlier evacuated its citizens from China and Japan in the wake of the outbreak.

Iran already evacuated from India its citizens who stranded due to suspension of commercial air services between the two nations in the wake of the outbreak.