MEA to evacuate next batch of Indians from Italy this week

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday announced that it is planning to evacuate the next batch of Indians from Italy this weekend.

"We are planning to evacuate the next batch of Indians from Italy this weekend, further details are being worked out with the civil aviation ministry," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a weekly briefing.

A special Air India flight evacuated 211 students and seven compassionate cases from Milan in northern Italy and reached Delhi on Sunday.

All the evacuees have been quarantined for 15 days at the ITBP's Chhawla facility and their blood samples have been collected by the doctors for testing.

"If found negative, the second sampling will be done on 14th day of the quarantine period and if that also results as negative, then all these 218 people will be released from the ITBP Centre," the ITBP said.

More than 60 million people are living under an increasingly unbearable lockdown that is growing tighter by the day in Italy.

The stores that remain open earlier are also told to close down and police are patrolling in ever-greater numbers, chasing families out for walks back into their homes and ensuring no one is outside without a valid reason.

The number of novel coronavirus cases in the country is rising at a rate of around 3,500 new cases or more every day, with deaths surpassing 2,500, CNN reported.

The highest concentration of cases is in the north of the country, where the dead are being stacked up to be buried as funeral services are strictly prohibited.

The highest concentration of cases is in the north of the country, where the dead are being stacked up to be buried as funeral services are strictly prohibited.

Europe has been designated as the new epicentre of coronavirus outbreak in Europe by the World Health Organisation.