VP speaks to Jaishankar regarding Indians stranded at Rome airport

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday spoke to Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar regarding the Indians, who are stranded at Rome airport in Italy.

The External Affairs Minister has assured that medical teams are being sent to issue certification to facilitate their travel to India, informed Naidu in a tweet.

In the Rajya Sabha, Jaishankar, while responding to a member's question, said the government is trying to bring back Indians from different countries hit by coronavirus.

"Please understand that we can only bring them back if they are tested. They have to be tested. To test them, we have started sampling today. We can't bring back untested people in a very severe epidemic situation as I have the responsibility of this country to worry about," he said.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had on March 5 issued a travel advisory asking those arriving in the country from coronavirus-affected Italy, South Korea to procure a certificate showing them having tested negative for the deadly virus.

The advisory came into force on March 10 and is a temporary measure till cases of COVID-19 subside.

Coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan city of China, has now spread to more than 90 countries and has killed over 3,300 people worldwide. The countries like South Korea and Italy have recorded the maximum number of cases of deadly virus, besides China.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across India, including foreign nationals, has gone up to 73. Out of these 73 people, 56 are Indian citizens. With 17 coronavirus positive cases, the maximum number of cases in the country has been reported from Kerala.

Maharashtra reported 11 cases while in Uttar Pradesh there were 11 positive cases including a foreigner, according to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The government has taken several steps to contain the virus, including suspension of all visas to India till April 15, after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.