Coronavirus: Over 3,000 Indians infected abroad, 25 died

New Delhi, Apr 16: India has lost at least 25 of its nationals abroad to the COVID-19 so far.

More than 3,300 Indians have tested positive for Covid-19. These people are stranded across 53 countries, said reports on Thursday.

India has repatriated over 35,000 foreign nationals from over 35 countries. Most recently, UK nationals were flown back home on Wednesday from Kerala. More than 150 nationals were flown back home from Amritsar earlier today.

Indians stranded abroad will have to be patient as the government is not evacuating them as part of a larger policy decision to check spread of the virus in the country.

India has decided to supply anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to 55 countries on commercial basis as well as grants.

On sourcing medical equipment from abroad, they said India is procuring coronavirus testing kits from South Korea and China.

India is looking at procuring medical equipment from Germany, the US, the UK, Malaysia, Japan and France to fight COVID-19.

India today crossed the 12,000-mark in Covid-19 cases, with a total of 12,380 infections, while the death toll climbed to 414, the Union Health Ministry said.

A list of 170 hotspot districts was released by the Centre yesterday, which includes all six metros and most large cities. The novel coronavirus has infected over two million people worldwide and led to more than 1,36,000 deaths globally.