348 people discharged from quarantine facilities, more Indians to be brought back from Wuhan
New Delhi/Gurgaon: All 248 people at an Army camp in Manesar and another batch of 100 at an ITBP facility, quarantined at these two places after being evacuated from coronavirus-hit Wuhan earlier this month, were discharged on Tuesday, officials said, even as more Indians will be brought back from China by an IAF aircraft.
The remaining people housed at the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp will be released by Wednesday morning, the officials
A total of 647 Indians and seven Maldivians were brought back from Wuhan on February 1 and 2 in two 747 Boeing Air India aircraft after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China and kept at the two quarantine facilities.
On Monday, a batch of about 200 people were discharged from the ITBP camp, which housed a total of 406 people, including seven Maldivians.
All 248 persons, mostly students, who were quarantined at the Army camp left for their homes after being declared fit on Tuesday.
"All of them have tested negative for the respiratory virus in the subsequent tests after the completion of the 14-day quarantine period," an official source said.
Military sources said India will send a C-17 military aircraft to Wuhan on February 20 to evacuate more Indians from Wuhan.
The C-17 Globemaster, the biggest military aircraft in the Air Force, will carry a large consignment of medical supplies to China and bring back more Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic, the sources told PTI.
Last week, India had announced that it will send medicines as well as other medical supplies to China.
As the inmates left the quarantine facility on Tuesday, they thanked the Indian Army for the arrangements made at the camp, particularly the food, and raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', sources said.
"Due to the fear of coronavirus spreading rapidly, we appealed the Indian embassy in China to rescue us. Our university also provided support to us. The documentation process took around eight days after which Indian Army evacuated us on February 1 on an Air India flight," said a student wearing a mask after being discharged.
So far 317 people out of total 406 have left the ITBP centre after being declared free of novel coronavirus by the doctors.
All those who were discharged have been provided with conveyance till airport, railway stations, or bus stands.
Among those who will leave the facility on Wednesday are a few families. All released persons were advised to remain self isolated for the next 14 days at their respective places, ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said.
They were also advised the dos and don'ts during the period.
On Monday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had also visited the ITBP facility and interacted with the evacuees.
India has so far reported three confirmed cases of the virus, all in Kerala.
Two of the three medical students who had tested positive for novel coronavirus infection have now been discharged, Vardhan said on Monday.
The condition of the third one is stable, he said.
China's National Health Commission on Tuesday said the death toll due to the outbreak has climbed to 1,868 while the total number of confirmed cases jumped to 72,436.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
