Another batch of about 100 people, who were among the over 400 quarantined at an Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) facility in Delhi after being evacuated earlier this month from coronavirus-hit Wuhan, were discharged on Tuesday.
This comes a day after a batch of about 200 people were discharged from the ITBP facility, which housed a total of 406 people, including seven Maldivians.
So far, 302 people out of total 406, have left the ITBP centre after being declared free of novel corona virus by the doctors.
The rest of the inmates will be released by Wednesday morning, ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said. All those who were discharged have been provided with conveyance till airport, railway stations, or bus stands.
Among those who will leave the facility on Wednesday include a few families. All released persons were advised to remain self isolated for the next 14 days at their respective places, Pandey said.
They were also advised the dos and don’ts during the period. A team of doctors and other staff are taking care of the smooth departure of the remaining people with due procedures and protocols.
A total of 650 people were brought back from Wuhan in China on February 1 and 2 in two 747 Boeing Air India aircraft after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China. While 406 of these were sent to the ITBP facility, the rest were quarantined at an Army centre in Haryana’s Manesar.
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong on Tuesday asserted that China has put in place multi-level control and prevention mechanisms and will win the battle against coronavirus.
He added that the outbreak has not been able to impact the strong fundamentals of China’s strong economy.
The envoy said China has allocated RMB 80 billion to contain the disease and the Government has sufficient resources and policy tools to cope with economic fluctuations following the epidemic. At the same time, he said that virus is a “borderless and a common threat to everyone in the world” and joint efforts are required to combat it.
The envoy also appreciated India for extending solidarity and expressing readiness to assist China to deal with the epidemic, but stressed that there should not be any restrictions on trade and movement of people between the two neighbours.
He said the number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside Hubei province, the epicentre of the epidemic, is coming down.
“China has full confidence that it will win the battle against coronavirus epidemic,” he told reporters.
The COVID-19 virus, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan late last year, has spread to more than 72,000 people and killed 1,900 in China.
The envoy also recounted the 2003 visit of India’s then Defence Minister George Fernandes to the country when it was reeling under SARS epidemic even as it urged New Delhi to review restrictions imposed on trade and movement of people between the two countries in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.