New Delhi: As many 117 Indians who have been evacuated from conflict-torn Sudan have been quarantined for seven days upon their arrival in India over fears of yellow fever, as per officials.
Evacuated from Sudan under Operation Kaveri, they were not vaccinated against yellow fever and will be released after seven days if they remain asymptomatic, said the Union health ministry.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs under ‘Operation Kaveri’.
The Union health ministry has focused on ensuring that necessary quarantine facilities at transit junctures are available in mission mode for incoming passengers. These passengers are provided rent-free accommodation with free food facility in quarantine centers managed by Airport Health Officers (APHOs), and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at various hospitals across states holding a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as well as central government hospitals in Delhi such as Safdarjung Hospital.
Arrangements have also been made at RHTC, Najafgarh (100 beds), NITR, Mehrauli (40 beds), and Lady Hardinge Medical College (60 beds).
The ministry has also stated that the facilities are not only for those arriving from Sudan but also for all international passengers arriving in India. The Union health ministry has ensured that all incoming passengers, whether vaccinated or not, are being tested for COVID-19 and are being provided with appropriate quarantine facilities as per the guidelines of the Government of India.
Yellow fever is a tropical virus disease that affects the liver and kidneys, causing fever and jaundice and is often fatal. It is transmitted by mosquitoes. Vaccination is necessary for those traveling to countries with a risk of yellow fever transmission.
In the first batch of 360 passengers, no one required quarantine, but in the second batch, 14 were asked to take the quarantine facility. In the third and fourth flight, 47 and 61 passengers required quarantine.
‘Operation Kaveri’ is a mission launched by India to repatriate its citizens who have been stranded in Sudan due to the ongoing conflict which resulted from clashes between the army and paramilitary forces in the country.
India has successfully evacuated over a thousand of its citizens from strife-torn Sudan under this mission. The evacuees were rescued from Sudan by military aircraft and boats to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.
The external affairs ministry is looking at rescuing more citizens from the war-torn African nation before the end of the tenuous ceasefire between Sudan’s regular army and a paramilitary force.
According to the website of the Indian embassy in Khartoum, there were around 2,800 Indian nationals in Sudan, and along with this, there was also a settled Indian community of around 1,200 people, which has been in the country for nearly 150 years.