COVID-19 has claimed 1,568 lives of Indians and infected 46,433 as New Delhi announced that it will facilitate the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad in a phased manner.
Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in its latest update that COVID-19 has so far claimed 1,568 lives while the number of infections climbed to 46,433 cases. The health ministry said that there were 195 deaths and 3,900 positive cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 1,568 and positive cases to 46,433.
Out of the total infected cases, 12,727 people were discharged from hospitals after they recovered. Maharashtra is considered the worst-hit Indian state with 583 deaths and 14,541 positive cases followed by Gujarat with 319 deaths and 5,804 positive cases as the pandemic hit 32 Indian states.
Facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad
Meanwhile, the Indian Home Ministry said in a statement that it will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner using aircraft and naval ships.
Non-scheduled commercial flights would be arranged for the operation, which would be made available on payment-basis starting from May 7, it stated.
The statement added that the passengers will have to follow protocols issued by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Civil Aviation during the journey and after reaching the destination.
Before travel, medical screening would be done and only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel, the ministry informed. After arriving in India, the passengers will have to undergo a medical checkup and then they would be quarantined for 14 days.
India is in its third phase of lockdown in which various regions have been divided into red, orange and green zones taking into account the severity of the infection.
Areas not affected by the coronavirus will enjoy some relaxation while there are several restrictions that would be strictly implemented across the nation.
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