External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held a telephonic conversation with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne and shared the respective domestic response strategies by the two countries to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
The conversation between the two foreign ministers came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian PM Scott Morrison agreed on the importance of bilateral experience-sharing in flattening the growth curve of the coronavirus.
In a tweet, Jaishankar said India is also responding “positively” to Australia’s requirements for drugs, without elaborating whether it has sought supply of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine like many other countries.
Army extends quarantine span of Iran evacuees
Jaipur: The Army has extended the quarantine period of some evacuees brought from Iran to its facilities at Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.
According to the state Health Department, 36 of the 1,036 evacuees tested positive for the infection as of Wednesday. Three batches were sent to Jaisalmer, and two to Jodhpur. Upon their arrival in India, they were quarantined at the Army Wellness Facilities at Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.
At the Jaisalmer facility, the evacuees were tested at AIIMS, Jodhpur after they completed their quarantine period, and of the 236 people evacuated in the first batch, 15 asymptomatic persons tested positive. The entire second batch of 53 tested negative for the virus. In the third batch of 195 evacuees, only two persons have tested positive till date. —ENS