Coronavirus: Indians from China, Japan brought back

An Air India flight on Thursday brought back to the national capital 119 Indians and 5 foreigners who were on board a coronavirus-hit cruise ship docked off Yokohama in Japan.

The foreigners, who were brought back to India on board the special Air India flight, included two from Sri Lanka and one each from Nepal, South Africa and Peru.

All the evacuees will undergo a 14-day quarantine at a medical facility set-up by the Indian Army in Manesar.

Meanwhile, an Indian Air Force aircraft which had taken medical supplies to China's Hubei province, whose capital Wuhan is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, has returned to India with 76 Indians and 36 nationals from seven other nations.

"Appreciate facilitation by the Chinese government," tweeted external affairs minister S Jaishankar after the Indian Air Force Plane with 112 people landed in Delhi.

Of the 112, 76 were Indians and 36 were from seven countries -- Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, China, South Africa, USA and Madagascar.

All 112 people who have returned from Wuhan will now undergo a 14-day quarantine in India, just like their previous batches, to ensure that they are cleared of the COVID-19 virus.

Three Indian crew members on board the cruise ship did not board the special flight and conveyed their wish to continue their stay on board the cruise ship to complete the period of extended quarantine put in place by the government of Japan, a government statement said.

Out of the total 138 Indian nationals originally on board the Diamond Princess, 16 Indian crew members have tested positive for coronavirus and are receiving necessary medical care and treatment at onshore medical facilities in Japan.

They were among the 3,711 people on board the Diamond Princess ship when it docked at the Yokohama port, near Tokyo, on February 3.

The ship was quarantined after a passenger who disembarked last month in Hong Kong was found to be the carrier of the disease.

The Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster military aircraft on Wednesday took 15 tonnes of medical assistance comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment from India to the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan and later left with 112 Indians and foreign nationals stranded in the city.

The Indian embassy in China, which coordinated the operations, said that after unloading the relief supplies, the flight carried 112 Indians and foreign nationals to Delhi.

India operated two special Air India flights on February 1 and 2 and airlifted 647 Indian nationals, mostly students, and seven Maldivian nationals.

Wednesday's flight was cleared by China after allegations of delay by Indian officials.

China's worst-hit Hubei province and its capital Wuhan have been under complete lockdown since January 23.

The death toll from coronavirus in China has reached 2,715 while the number of confirmed cases jumped to 78,064, officials said on Wednesday.

"This assistance has been provided in the wake the Corona virus outbreak in China and the request by China to provide supplies such as masks and medical equipment," a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said.

In a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed India's solidarity with the people and government of China and also offered assistance in this "hour of need as a gift".

"The medical supplies will help augment China's efforts to control the outbreak of this infection which has been declared as a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation," it said.

"The assistance being sent today is also a mark of friendship and solidarity from the people of India towards the people of China as the two countries also celebrate 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year," it said.