Several people have been safely brought back to India who were stranded in war-hit Sudan under Operation Kaveri. However, among them there were 171 people who have been currently quarantined as they were not vaccinated against the yellow fever, said the Union Health Ministry.

Official statements of the Health Ministry

According to the officials, under Operation Kaveri, the Ministry of Health is closely working with the Ministry of External Affairs in order to maintain the health situation intact within the country. The central government is evacuating about 3,000 Indians from Sudan. Necessary quarantine facilities are being arranged at transit junctures in mission mode for the incoming passengers, the ministry said.

“A total of 1,191 passengers have arrived so far, of which 117 passengers are currently quarantined because they were not vaccinated against yellow fever. All passengers will be released after seven days if they remain asymptomatic,” it said.

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Rent-free accommodation arrangements

The ministry also said that the quarantined Indians are provided rent-free accommodation with free food facilities in the quarantine centres managed by airport health officers (APHOs) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at various hospitals across states as well as government hospitals like Safdarjung Hospital in the national capital. Arrangements have also been made at RHTC, Najafgarh (100 beds); NITR, Mehrauli (40 beds) and Lady Hardinge Medical College (60 beds).

Moreover, it said, “The first batch of passengers arrived in Delhi with 360 passengers, none of whom required quarantine followed by the second flight which arrived in Mumbai with 240 passengers on April 26, of which 14 were quarantined.”

After validation of vaccination certificates, two people were released, it said.

The remaining 12 will complete their quarantine period by Saturday evening.

On Friday, the third flight arrived in Bengaluru with 360 passengers of which 47 passengers were initially quarantined. Three of them were released on Saturday after the verification of vaccination, the ministry added.

Further, it said, The fourth flight arrived in Delhi Friday evening with 231 passengers of which 61 were quarantined (one was later released). Thirty-five passengers are at Delhi APHO and 26 passengers are at Safdarjung Hospital.

“The fifth flight is expected to arrive in Delhi Saturday night with 367 passengers and an additional flight with 320 passengers is expected to arrive Sunday morning at 10:30 am in Bengaluru. The number of those quarantined will be dynamic as it is dependent on the verification status of passengers’ passport number(s),” the ministry added.

Operation Kaveri

Operation Kaveri was launched on April 24 to evacuate the Indian citizens stranded in Sudan.

A team of officials, including from the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian embassy in Sudan, have been appointed to ensure that the proper process of evacuation gets followed. During the evacuation, Indians will be transferred from Sudan to the capital city of Khartoum from where they will be flown back to India.