As many as 3,336 Indian nationals abroad have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and another 25 have died, official sources said. The infections, a large number of which occurred in Kuwait and Singapore, are spread across 53 countries. According to a break-up of those infected, 785 of them are in Kuwait followed by 634 in Singapore and 420 in Qatar. As many as 308 are infected in Iran, 297 in Oman, 238 in the UAE, 186 in Saudi Arabia and 135 in Bahrain.
The list also includes 91 in Italy, 37 in Malaysia, 36 in Portugal, 29 in Ghana, 24 in the US, 15 in Switzerland and 13 in France. In keeping with the practice followed by several other countries, India has so far avoided evacuating from abroad those who tested positive for Covid-19. It has asked Indian missions in respective countries to remain in touch with them and facilitate treatment for them with help from local authorities.
Other Indians stranded abroad too have been asked to stay put wherever they are with flights suspended until May 3, when the lockdown is supposed to end. Eleven of the 25 deaths of Indian nationals are said to have taken place in the US. As for foreigners stranded in India, sources said India has facilitated the evacuation of 35,000 of them from 48 countries.
The number of those infected abroad has seen a substantial increase from the 276 infections, which were reported around the same time last month. Iran, one of the worst-hit countries, alone had then accounted for 255 of those infections. The number of Indian nationals infected in the UAE was then 12 but it has now gone up to 238. Also significant is the number of Singapore, 634, as no Indian had been reported to be Covid-19 positive until a month ago. Similarly, Kuwait had seen only one Indian get infected at that point of time.
It is unlikely though that those infected will find a place in the first available fight once the lockdown is removed. The government’s first priority will be to bring back those who have no Covid-19 symptoms.
8 Indians die in Saudi Arabia
Eight Indians, including two engineers, have died due to Covid-19 in Saudi Arabia, according to a media report. Mohammed Aslam Khan, an electrical engineer in Mecca, and Azmatullah Khan, an engineer at the Mecca Haram power station, have died due to the Covid-19, Saudi Gazette reported. Aslam Khan, aged 51, who hailed from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, was admitted to King Faisal Hospital, Mecca on April 3, following worsening of his condition after coming down with fever. He had been on ventilator for more than two weeks and breathed his last on Saturday night, the paper said.
Azmatullah Khan, from Telangana, died of the pandemic on Friday. His body has been buried in Mecca on Sunday. Khan, 65, had been working with Saudi Binladin Group for the last 32 years.
Another Indian Fakre Alam, an employee at the Haram Project of Saudi Binladin Group in Mecca, died on Sunday due to infection, the paper said.
