Amidst the coronavirus epidemic that killed more than 4000 people globally, an Air India flight carrying 150 Indians from Iran will be reaching Jaisalmer on 13 March, where they will be quarantined at an Indian Army facility created at Jaisalmer.
Individuals will be transferred from the airport post their initial screening to the quarantine facility.
Another batch of 250 people being air evacuated from Iran on 14 March will also land in Jaisalmer and be quarantined at the Army facility at Jaisalmer.
About 6000 Indians are in Iran, out of which 1100 are pilgrims from the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and the state of Maharashtra, 300 are students from J&K and 1000 are fishermen from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Gujrat.
Meanwhile, while addressing the Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister that efforts are on to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in coronavirus-plagued countries like Italy and Iran.
"There are some operational constraints, as the Iranian system is strict. But we will do whatever we must, to check the spread of the coronavirus," he said, adding that "extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures."
India evacuated 58 Indians from Iran on Tuesday via a special Indian Air Force flight. The flight also carried samples of 529 Indians stranded in the country to be tested.
Meanwhile, India recorded its first coronavirus death after the samples of a 76-year-old man who passed away on Tuesday in Karnataka's Kalaburagi tested positive.
A statement issued by B Sriramulu, Minister for Health and Family Welfare of Karnataka, read, "The 76-year-old man from Kalburgi who passed away and was a suspected COVID 19 patient has been Confirmed for COVID 19. The necessary contact tracing, isolation and other measures as per protocol are being carried out. Telangana government has also been informed since he went to a private hospital there."
The man had returned to Karnataka from Saudi Arabia about 10 days ago, reports corroborated, adding that the state government has upped its efforts to create awareness among the people regarding the outbreak.
The Government of India has also released State Helpline Numbers to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
There have been 76 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India. Even a three-year-old has tested positive in Kerala, who had a travel history to Italy with parents.
In December 2019, the coronavirus outbreak was first reported in Wuhan city of China. The disease has affected over 100 countries and has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.