The 120 Indians who were evacuated from coronavirus-hit Iran will reach Jaisalmer in Rajasthan on Friday by an Air India flight. The 120 Indians will be quarantined at an army facility created in Jaisalmer, said a defence spokesperson.
All the 120 Indians will be transferred from theairport post their initial screening to the quarantine facility.
Defence Spokesperson Col Sombit Ghosh said that theIndians will be quarantined at an Indian Army facility created under the aegisof Southern Command. The patients will be transferred from the airport posttheir initial screening to the quarantine facility under the escort of civiladministration.
Another batch of 250 Indians will be evacuated fromIran on March 14 and will be airlifted from Iran and quarantined at the Armyfacility in Jaisalmer.
Seven more quarantine facilities have been set up forthe Covid-19 patients by the Defence Ministry especially for Indian citizensbeing brought back from coronavirus-hit countries.
Officials also informed that defence facilities arealso ready in Jodhpur, Jhansi, Deolali, Kolkata, Chennai and Suratgarh forquarantine. Sources further said that military field hospitals can also be setup at a short notice if required.
However, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had onThursday said the initial focus was to bring back Indian pilgrims stranded inIran, which is grappling with cases of coronavirus.
The outbreak of coronavirus is a "matter ofconcern" and "we need to respond responsibly", he told Lok Sabhaas he spoke on the current situation.
He said around 6,000 Indians are stranded in Iran,including 1,100 pilgrims from Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir.
