COVID-19: Vikas Swarup discusses fight against pandemic with nearly 30 European Envoys

Secretary of Overseas Indian Affairs and other delegates from the Ministry of External Affairs had an interaction with the ambassadors of nearly 30 Central European countries on Wednesday and exchanged views on combating COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken the world. Sharing images from the video conference on Twitter, Secretary of Overseas Indian Affairs, MEA said that the Envoys expressed gratitude to the Ministry for their constant cooperation in evacuating their citizens and supplying essential commodities.

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MEA reaches out to foreigners stranded in India

The Government of India has extended the nationwide lockdown till May 3, to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. In the wake of it, all domestic and international flights have also suspended their operations.

Due to this, thousands of foreign nationals are still stranded in the country, and therefore, the Ministry has been in constant touch with foreign envoys to facilitate their evacuation. The MEA has operated many special flights to help foreigners to reach their countries and to supply essentials in this time of crisis.

Earlier on April 10, Dammu Ravi, AS and Coordinator of MEA said that over 20,000 foreign nationals have been evacuated to different parts of the world on the request of various governments in view of the COVID-19 crisis.

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COVID-19 in India

The Indian Council for Medical Research on Wednesday released data stating that over 26,943 samples have been reported on Tuesday till 9 PM, in a 24-hour period. Overall, a total of 4,62,621 samples have been tested by the ICMR.

The total number of positive Coronavirus cases across the country rose to 19,984, including 15,474 active cases of the virus. So far, 3,869 patients are cured/discharged while 640 deaths have been recorded, as per data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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(With inputs from agency)