AMID reports that a large number of Indians in Iran had tested positive for coronavirus, the government Tuesday said it could only confirm “some positive cases”. “It is quite possible that a country which has such a large spread of the virus could have some positive cases among indian nationals. But I cannot confirm to you if the list which is being circulated on social media is correct. Be rest assured that our Embassy in Iran is in touch with them and taking necessary steps to ensure their well-being,” Ministry of External Affairs Additional Secretary Dammu Ravi said at a media briefing Tuesday. Last week, Ravi had said they would bring back only those Indians from other countries who test negative for coronavirus. “If Indians test positive elsewhere, we would expect the country they are in to take care of them, like we are doing with the foreign nationals (here),” he said on March 12. Till Monday, 389 Indians had returned from Iran by special flights, including 205 pilgrims. On Tuesday, Iran issued its most dire warning yet about the outbreak, suggesting “millions” could die if the public kept travelling and ignoring advisories. A state television journalist gave the warning hours after people pushed their way into two major shrines that had been closed over fears of the virus. More than 16,000 of the over 18,000 confirmed cases of the virus across the Middle East have been reported in Iran, with the country’s death toll rising by 135 on Tuesday to 988. Residents of Ladakh in Iran on pilgrimage told The Indian Express that they had been informed by the Indian Embassy that over 250 of them were positive for coronavirus. One travel agent from Kargil, stuck in Iran’s city of Qom, said the list had been shared by the Embassy on a WhatsApp group created recently to keep them updated. Several of them told The Indian Express over the phone from Iran that over 800 Indians were currently stranded in Qom. A 44-year-old pilgrim from Leh said he and 18 others in a 53-member group had tested positive, but no effort had been made to segregate them from those who didn’t have the infection. “My sample was taken by an Indian Embassy team a week ago. We have been informed that 19 of us are positive. From day one, we have been demanding that we should be kept in isolation.” The Kargil resident said the Indian Embassy had not been of any help. “There is not a single mask available. When we visit the local hospital, they say you are fine, there are no symptoms.” Another pilgrim in Qom, urging the Indian government to take them back, said, more than 200 “positive” cases had been shifted to a facility provided by Iran.
