Swab samples of Indians in Iran to arrive today
NEW DELHI: By Saturday afternoon, an Iranian Mahan Air flight will bring to New Delhi the swab samples of 300 Indians to be tested for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) before they are cleared for their return home.
India is also working with the government of Iran to facilitate the evacuation of about 2,000 Indians stranded in Iran, and sending back about 2,000 Iranian nationals currently in India.to ensure that the Indians brought back from Iran are free of the coronavirus, the government is making arrangements to assay their test samples to clear them in batches for a flight back home.
“It is a difficult task but we are working with the government of Iran on this to see how citizens from both sides reach their destination safely,” civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at a press conference.
India has sent a six-member team of scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to Iran to set up a makeshift laboratory so that people can be tested before flying back.
Until such a lab is set up, experts will be taking swab samples and sending them to India for testing.
The team is in Tehran with equipment that is capable of testing at least 600 people.
“We have worked out an arrangement with the Iranian government wherein a ferry flight (of Mahan Airlines) from Iran will carry around 300 swab samples of Indians to Delhi, to
be able to test and clear people for the flight back home,” said Puri.
Civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “We have advanced graded response as the flights were suspended to Iran due to the outbreak situation. We will allow Iran temporarily to fly into India; they will first bring the swabs and take their people back in the same plane.”
Indians whose samples test positive will not be allowed to board the flight home, but those who test negative are likely to stay under home quarantine for at least 14 days.
The embassy of Iran said in a statement: “Republic of Iran in New Delhi wishes to draw the kind Indian public attention to the following: Immediately after the announcement dated 26 Feb. 2020 of DGCA of India on suspension of all Iranian flights to
India, the Islamic Republic of Iran bearing in mind the humanitarian aspect and urgency of the issue expressed its full readiness to establish some relief flights for immediate evacuation of all stranded nationals in both sides, taking into account all health protocols…”
DGCA is short for the Directorate of Civil Aviation.
India has so far evacuated 881 people in batches from the coronavirus outbreak city of Wuhan in China, and Japan.
“It should take about 4-5 days before we get to know whether we will be able to set up a laboratory there or not but meanwhile our scientists can collect and ship samples here. We have the capacity to test, and we are ensuring that it is done smoothly,” said a senior government official, requesting anonymity.