Thursday, February 6, 2020

Will India airlift Pakistani students from Wuhan? Here's what government has to say

Ministry of External Affairs has said that India can consider evacuating Pakistani students from China, if Imran Khan government makes a request.
 hen India evacuated its students from the epicentre of deadly coronavirus in China's Wuhan, the internet was left heart-broken by something else. As Indian students, most studying medicine, boarded the buses sent by the Indian embassy to leave, Pakistani students made videos and posted on social media.
In their emotional messages, they denounced their government and hailed India. Imran Khan-led Pakistani government has chosen not to evacuate its students from the country which has, by Thursday, registered over 28000 confirmed cases and at least 560 deaths.
Soon, the din on social media grew to request Indian authorities to evacuate Pakistani students as well. The Indian government has responded. Ministry of External Affairs has said that India can consider it if Imran Khan government makes a request.
On being asked if the government is planning to help Pakistani students who have been left behind their country in coronavirus-stricken Wuhan in China, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Thursday said that for now, the Pakistan government has not made any such request.
"But if such a situation arises and we have resources available, then we will surely think about it," Raveesh Kumar said.
Chinese health authorities reported 563 deaths and another sharp jump in the number of confirmed cases to 28,018. Outside mainland China, at least 260 cases have been confirmed, including two deaths in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Imran Khan has said that his government will not evacuate Pakistani students in solidarity with Beijing after an official statement from Chinese authorities called other countries 'mean' for imposing travel bans in view of the virus.
MEA Raveesh Kumar told media in a presser that all 645 people evacuated via two Air India flights last week have tested negative for the virus. The evacuees, which also included seven Maldivians, were kept in isolation at Army Base and ITBP camps.
It said that as of February 6, 1,38,750 passengers from 1,265 flights had been screened for novel coronavirus illness but no new case was detected.
India has so far reported three confirmed cases of nCoV from Kerala. Three medical students studying at the Wuhan University who returned to India recently tested positive for the virus.
Besides, 510 samples were tested by ICMR network laboratories, of which all had tested negative except for the three already reported positive cases.
The three cases are clinically stable, the ministry said in a statement.
It said that all 645 people evacuated from Wuhan, who were kept in isolation at Army Base and ITBP camps, tested negative for coronavirus.
Community surveillance and contact tracing is going on by IDSP for 6,558 persons across 32 states/UTs.
The Fourth Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) meeting was held on Thursday under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to discuss various technical issues, including the review period of follow up required for asymptomatic travellers from China.
The Health Ministry in coordination with central ministries and all states/UTs is taking adequate measures for the management of nCoV in India.

No comments: