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NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that 276 Indians have been infected by the novel coronavirus overseas, with the maximum number being reported from Iran at 255 cases. Of the 276 infected Indians overseas, 255 are in Iran, 12 in UAE, five in Italy, and one each in Hong Kong, Kuwait, Rwanda and Sri Lanka, the ministry said.

India has evacuated a total of 590 people from Iran. While 201 Indians were evacuated on Wednesday alone, 53 Indians had returned from Iran on Monday, ET has learnt. They all have been quarantined in Jaisalmer.

The Indian Embassies in the respective countries are in touch with such Indian citizens regarding appropriate medical attention in cooperation with local authorities, the ministry said.

Indians in Iran are being screened either by the Indian medical team which visited the Persian Gulf country or samples are collected from them and sent to India. There were over 6,000 Indians in various provinces of Iran at the time of the Covid-19 outbreak.

These included 1,100 pilgrims, mainly from the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, and Maharashtra.

The first batch of 108 samples collected from Indians in Iran were received in India on March 7. After the tests, 58 Indian pilgrims (25 men, 31 women and two children), who were found negative, were repatriated in an IAF C-17 special flight on March 10.

Last week, external affairs minister S Jaishankar told Parliament that the government has also received samples of 529 more Indians, which have been tested at the National Institute of Virology.

We continue to collect more samples in Tehran and our endeavour is to ensure the earliest possible return of our nationals after appropriate testing and screening. We are working with the Iranian authorities to operate some limited commercial flights to facilitate their early return.

Our embassy, with the cooperation of the Iranian authorities, is making arrangements for medical care and monitoring of those who have tested positive, the minister said.

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Covid Red: Indian cases 1.7 times more in Iran - Economic Times