India Evacuates Second Batch Of 323 Citizens, Including 7 Maldivians, From Coronavirus-Hit Wuhan

India on Sunday airlifted second batch of 323 citizens from coronavirus-hit Wuhan. The Second Air India special flight carrying 323 Indians and 7 Maldivian citizens, that took off from Wuhan earlier landed at Delhi airport. In a tweet, Maldives' Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for the evacuation of Maldivians. The 7 Maldivian citizens will be be housed in Delhi for a quarantine period. 

#WATCH | 323 Indian citizens and 7 Maldives nationals who arrived in Delhi by the second @airindiain special flight from China's Wuhan today, underwent #coronavirus screening soon after they de-boarded from the aircraft.

READ full storyhttps://t.co/UIwFWFSMrE pic.twitter.com/gYk0wOTWWp

— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) February 2, 2020

"323 passengers were there in the second special flight, which landed at Delhi airport just now", an Air India spokesperson said.

Vikram Misri, Ambassador of India to China, lauded the efforts of the Air India crew as he tweeted, "A special word of appreciation for two of our officers who are on board the plane - Deepak Padmakumar and M Balakrishnan - they showed exemplary fortitude and a real spirit of public service by travelling to ground zero in #Wuhan to coordinate airport arrangements. Kudos to both."

A special word of appreciation for two of our officers who are on board the plane - Deepak Padmakumar and M.Balakrishnan - they showed exemplary fortitude and a real spirit of public service by traveling to ground zero in #Wuhan to coordinate airport arrangements. Kudos to both.

— Vikram Misri (@VikramMisri) February 1, 2020

Earlier, a special Air India plane carrying 324 Indians landed in the national capital on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, India's second confirmed case of novel coronavirus has been reported in Kerala, days after a China-returned student was tested positive in the southern state. The report has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health.

Also Read: Coronavirus Update: India To Start Screening Passengers From Thailand, Singapore

Wuhan is the epicenter of outbreak of novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 300 people in China.

The death count in China’s due to coronavirus outbreak has reached to 304 and the number of confirmed cases notched up to 14,380, China’s national authorities announced on Sunday. All the deaths are in Hubei Province, according to China’s National Health Commission.

Also Read: Second Confirmed Case Of Coronavirus Reported From Kerala, Patient Being Monitored

Moreover, passengers arriving from Thailand and Singapore will be screened at airports in addition to those coming from China and Hong Kong for possible exposure to novel coronavirus (nCoV), the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

The decision was taken at a high-level review meeting held by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba here on the preparedness to deal with the virus amid mounting global concern over increasing number of cases in China and several other countries.