New Delhi: The Indian government on Wednesday admitted that 255 Indians nationals in Iran have been infected with coronavirus, a day after a list went public with the names and phone numbers of people who tested positive.
Overall, the number of Indians abroad who are positive for COVID-19 now stands at 277 – a jump of over 1500% in two weeks.
The last time that India had officially given the numbers for coronavirus infected Indians abroad was on March 4. At that time, minister of state for external affairs V. Muraleedharan had said that the number of infected Indians outside the country stood at 17. This had included 16 in Japan on the Diamond Princess cruise ship and 1 in the UAE.
The Wire had reported on Tuesday that there was a list of 254 people who had apparently tesed positive for the coronavirus which had been uploaded to a WhatsApp group of Indians in Iran by an embassy official. These Indian pilgrims were visiting the holy city of Qom, which is the epicentre of the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran.
The Indian government did not authenticate the list on Tuesday, but Dammu Ravi, the senior MEA official for coordination on COVID-19 efforts, had asserted that there would be “some cases”.
But, the Indian government confirmed the number a day later.
Muraleedharan provided the update in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The numbers were tucked in a table annexed to the reply, which listed 276 Indians in seven countries as having been infected with the coronavirus.
The largest number, as per the table, was 255 in Iran. This was followed by 13 in the UAE and five in Italy. Hong Kong, Kuwait, Rwanda and Sri Lanka had one Indian each. The list does not include the previously infected in Japan, as they have recovered.
“The Indian Embassies in the respective countries are in touch with such Indian citizens regarding appropriate medical attention in cooperation with local authorities,” said the minister of state.
This was a reiteration of official Indian policy that positive cases of Indian nationals abroad will not be allowed to enter the country, but would be treated in the health facilities of the host nations.