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Coronavirus update: Indian national evacuated from Italy with 82 tests positive for Covid-19

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByHT Correspondent
Mar 13, 2020 03:48 PM IST

The government has evacuated its nationals from various coronavirus hotspots across the world. Most of them have been quarantined at the Manesar quarantine facility and the one established by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Chhawla, near Delhi.

One Indian national, who was brought back from coronavirus-hit Italy two days back along with 82 others, has tested positive for Covid-19. He was quarantined at an Army facility in Manesar, near Gurgaon. The man had been working in one of the restaurants in Italy for the past 14 years.

Authorities said that as per procedure, he has been shifted to an isolation facility at Safdarjung Hospital for further medical examination and recovery.

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The government has evacuated its nationals from various coronavirus hotspots across the world. Most of them have been quarantined at the Manesar quarantine facility and the one established by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Chhawla, near Delhi.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, said on Thursday that evacuation does not mean bringing back everybody and people who test negative for the infection will be brought back first. “We have to be clear that evacuation does not mean that we are trying to bring everybody. We need to understand that people who are not contaminated will be first brought in,” MEA Additional Secretary Dammu Ravi said. He asked other Indians in countries witnessing coronavirus outbreak to stay put.

Responding to an emergency requirement to create and manage Indian and foreign nationals, the Indian Army had created a facility near Manesar where detainees can be monitored for two weeks by a qualified team of doctors and staff members to watch for any signs of infection.

So far, 455 individuals who have arrived from Wuhan (248), Japan (124) and Italy (83) have been quarantined in three batches at the emergency facility.

Sources in the Army said that the force is incurring an approximate expenditure of Rs 3.5 lakh per day in running the quarantine facility at Manesar, news agency ANI reported. The Indian Army has committed 60 personnel to run the facility.

To prevent mass outbreak, the facility has been divided into sectors, each with a maximum capacity of 50 people. All the detainees are required to wear a three-layered mask at all times.

After 14 days, persons with no symptoms are allowed to go home with their detailed documentation sent to the district/state surveillance units. Those found infected are shifted to isolation facilities for further medical exams and recovery.

Apart from playing games, watching television and having meals together within a barrack, people are not allowed to interact with the members of another barrack or sector.

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