Coronavirus: Indians stranded in UAE to be evacuated on May 7; 2 lakh people register

Coronavirus: Indians stranded in UAE to be evacuated on May 7; 2 lakh people register

Coronavirus lockdown 3.0: The statement by the Indian Consulate in Dubai said that the cost of the tickets will be borne by the passengers along with the quarantine and medical check-up costs

Coronavirus lockdown extension: Stranded Indians to be evacuated

The Indian Consulate in Dubai has said that two special flights will operate on Thursday to bring back Indians stranded in the United Arab Emirates. The flights will operate from Abu Dhabi to Kochi and from Dubai to Kozhikode. The list of passengers will be finalised by the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai.

According to a statement, the list will be drawn from the registrations on the Embassy or Consulate database that was launched a couple of days ago. Workers in distress, elderly, pregnant women and medical emergencies will be prioritised. Only people who have their names on the list will be issued air tickets. There were almost 2,00,000 registrations.

The statement added that the cost of the tickets will be borne by the passengers along with the quarantine and medical check-up costs. "The cost of the tickets and other conditions, for travel including quarantine requirements after reaching India, and health requirements to board the flight will be conveyed in due course and will have to be accepted by each passenger," it said.

Meanwhile, the Government of India issued a circular on May 4 informing that it will facilitate the return of Indian nationals who are stranded abroad. The process of getting these stranded Indians back will be done in a phased manner from May 7 in "non-scheduled commercial flights".

Only asymptomatic people will be allowed to undertake the journey after a medical test at airports. The passengers will have to follow health protocols as mentioned by the Health Ministry and will be tested upon reaching India.

"On reaching the destination, everyone would have to register on the Aarogya Setu App. Everyone would be medically screened. After scrutiny, they would be quarantined for 14 days, either in hospital or in an institutional quarantine on payment-basis, the concerned State government. COVID test would be done after 14 days and further action would be taken according to health protocols," says the circular.

According to reports, the process could start after May 15 for the UK. Air India is going to be the airline carrier in all probability.