Coronavirus update: Fourth batch of 53 Indians arrive from Iran

Fourth batch of 53 Indians were evacuated from Tehran and Shiraz, Iran on Monday (March 16), the External Affair Minster Dr S Jaishankar said. The 53 Indian include - 52 students and a teacher. The 53 evacuees arrived at Jaisalmer airport in the wee hours on Monday. They have been moved to the Army Wellness Centre in the city, following preliminary screening.

53 Indians, evacuated from Tehran and Shiraz cities of Iran, arrived at Jaisalmer airport on March 16. Photo: ANI

On March 10, the first batch  of 58 Indian pilgrims  were brought from Iran. IAF C-17 brought the pilgrims from Iran. The second batch batch of 44 Indian pilgrims were brought on March 13. On March 15, 234 Indians, including 131 students and 103 pilgrims were brought from Iran.

Also read: Coronavirus outbreak LIVE updates: Cases rise to 110; another batch from Iran reaches India

Iran is one of the worst-affected countries by the coronavirus outbreak. In Iran, number of positive COVID-19 cases have climbed to 13, 938 and 724 people have died due to it. However, 4,590 have also recovered from coronavirus in Iran, according to worldometres.info.

Meanwhile, in India, 110 people have been infected by coronvirus so far.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the leaders of the SAARC countries through video conference to chart out a common strategy in order to combat COVID-19 in the region. PM Modi had proposed to create COVID-19 Emergency Fund with India making an initial offer of US $10 million for the fund.

Also read: Coronavirus outbreak: PM Modi proposes SAARC emergency fund to fight COVID-19; offers to contribute $10 million