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16 Afghan evacuees test positive for Covid-19 in Delhi, all asymptomatic
Among them are three Afghan Sikhs who had carried the Swaroops of Guru Granth Sahib from Kabul and were received by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri at the Delhi airport.
At least 16 of the 78 evacuees from Afghanistan who landed in India on Tuesday are said to have tested positive for coronavirus. Among them are three Afghan Sikhs who had carried the Swaroops of Guru Granth Sahib from Kabul and were received by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri at the Delhi airport.
As mandated by the government, all the evacuees, none of whom have so far shown any symptoms of the virus, have been quarantined. The tests were conducted upon their arrival at the Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi.
A report in the Indian Express quoted a BJP national spokesperson saying the trio -- Dharmender Singh, Kulraj Singh and Himmat Singh -- who brought the Swaroops of Guru Granth Sahib, the central holy scripture of Sikhism, from Afghanistan were found to be infected by the virus.
Also read | 'This is why CAA was necessary': Hardeep Singh Puri as India evacuates people from Afghanistan
A PTI story had said on Tuesday at least 10 of the evacuees had tested positive, the figure is likely to have gone up. A representative of the Indian World Forum, an organisation coordinating evacuation efforts with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Air Force (IAF), said, “Some people have tested positive for the infection. However, there is no clarity on their count.”
On Monday, two persons among the 146 people who had landed in the national capital following their evacuation from the war-torn country, had tested positive for coronavirus.
An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) official said 81 people, who came from Afghanistan on Monday and Tuesday, have been sent to the ITBP's quarantine facility at Chhawla in south-west Delhi.
A memorandum issued by the Union Health Ministry on Monday said people arriving from Afghanistan would have to undergo a mandatory “minimum 14-day institutional quarantine” at the ITBP facility.
“Any person testing positive or detected as symptomatic shall be shifted to dedicated Covid Care Centre or Covid hospital of NCT of Delhi,” the memorandum read.
The PTI report said two Indian nationals, who were among the people brought to India from Afghanistan, have been admitted to the Covid ward in LNJP Hospital in the capital. "These two patients are male and their condition is stable. They were brought to the LNJP Hospital yesterday," a source was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Also read | 'Operation Devi Shakti': India evacuates more than 800 people from Afghanistan
As many as 78 people, including 46 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, flew into Delhi from Kabul via Dushanbe on an Air India flight along with three copies of Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib on Tuesday.
Besides Puri, Union minister V Muraleedharan was present at the airport to receive the three copies of the Sikh scripture and the batch of Afghan Sikhs.
The three copies of Guru Granth Sahib will be taken to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurdwara in New Mahavir Nagar, according to Chandhok.
Nearly 200 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are still stranded in Afghanistan. These people have taken shelter at the Karte Parwan gurdwara in Kabul, which is close to the airport, he said.
According to people sheltered in the gurdwara, the 10-kilometre-long drive to the international airport through various checkpoints is one of the biggest challenges in the rescue efforts.
Around 75 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are likely to be evacuated soon, Chandhok added.
Till Tuesday evening, India had brought over 800 people from Afghanistan as part of the evacuation mission that began on August 16, a day after Kabul fell to the Taliban.
Thousands of Afghans have been crowding around the Kabul airport for nearly a week, in a desperate attempt to flee the country fearing the Taliban's brutality.
India is carrying out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US and several other friendly countries.
