More than 11,600 Indian nationals living abroad were infected by the Coronavirus and 373 of them died of Covid-19, the government informed the Parliament on Monday.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said information collected by Indian missions showed the total number of Indian citizens abroad infected by the Coronavirus was 11,616, as on September 10.
“Of these, 373 Indians lost their lives due to Covid-19,” he said, adding that the highest number of deaths – 284 – was recorded in Saudi Arabia, followed by Bahrain (30) and the US (13).
The highest number of infections was reported from Singapore (4,618) followed by Bahrain (2,639), Kuwait (1,769), Oman (907), Qatar (420), Iran (308), the United Arab Emirates (238), Italy (192) and Malaysia (60).
Indian missions arranged for the welfare of Indian nationals, including through community associations. In some countries, arrangements were made for board and lodging and emergency medical assistance.
The total expenditure incurred by the missions in assisting Indian nationals in distress from the Indian Community Welfare Fund was close to ₹22.5 crore, Muraleedharan said.