Kerala students still stranded in China

Even as 2,500-odd Keralites from China and various other Coronavirus-hit countries reached the state over the last couple of weeks and are under surveillance, many more people were still reportedly held up in China.

A group of 21 Malayali medicine students from China sent a distress video message on Thursday, seeking help. They said that they were stranded at Kunming airport in China. Though they planned to travel to India via Singapore, the authorities at the airport denied permission to travel citing that no persons, other than citizens of Singapore, would be allowed to land in Singapore.

Sources said that Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, was in touch with the Indian embassy officials to make arrangements for their travel.

Students failed screening

Apart from the 647 Indians evacuated from the coronavirus-hit Hubei province in China, 10 other Indians who wanted to return were unable to do so as they could not clear the health screening, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar also said the already issued e-Visas for travel to India from China and existing normal visas are no longer valid.