14,800 Indians, 64 Flights From May 7: Centre’s Plan To Evacuate Stranded Citizens From 13 Countries

Thousands of Indians stranded abroad due to COVID-19 crises will be brought home by air and sea from May 7. This will be the largest overseas evacuation since independence. As per the foreign ministry, over 14800 Indians in 13 countries will be brought back by 64 flights in the first week. Depending on the aircraft capacity, each flight will have between 200 and 300 passengers to ensure that social distancing is maintained. Before passengers board the flight, they will have to declare whether they have fever, cough, diabetes or any respiratory disease. The government has said that only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel. Three ships have been deployed by the Navy to bring back stranded Indians. The government said upon arrival, all the passengers will have to download the ‘Aarogya Setu’ mobile application. The govt has also advised the state authorities to make arrangements for testing, quarantine and onward movement of the passengers. The number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 46433 with 1568 deaths.