119 Indian nationals (113 crew members and 6passengers) were brought back on Thursday by a special Air India flight whicharrived in New Delhi from Tokyo. The passengers were on-board the DiamondPrincess Cruise ship docked off at Yokohama in Japan.

The special flight which is in line with India'snieghbourhood first policy and Indo-Pacific vision also evacuated 5 foreignnationals- two Sri Lankans, 1 Nepalese, 1 South African and 1 passenger fromPeru. All the evacuees will undergo 14-day quarantine at the quarantinefacility set up by the Indian Army in Manesar, Haryana.

03 Indian crew members didn't board the specialflight and conveyed their wish to continue their stay on-board the Cruise shipto complete the period of extended quarantine put in place by the Government ofJapan.

16 crew members of the 138 Indian nationals whowere on-board the Diamond Princess Cruise ship have tested positive forCoronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) and are receiving necessary medical care andtreatment at onshore medical facilities in Japan. Indian Embassy in Tokyo hasestablished contact with these individuals and is continuously following-up ontheir recovery.

The ship was put under quarantine by the Government of Japan on 5th February for 14 days until 19th February, as one of the passengers who had disembarked from the ship had tested positive for COVID-19. The quarantine period was extended by the Government of Japan as the crew members were performing their regular duties during the initial quarantine period of 14 days.