Delhi: Hundreds of hotels booked for evacuees as India embarks on COVID-19 repatriation

As the 'Vande Bharat' Mission starts on Thursday, the Delhi government has started booking hundreds of rooms across the national capital to quarantine the evacuees. According to reports, the administration in Delhi is booking rooms in lodges, guest houses, and hotels, as well as hundreds of rooms in a 5-star hotel in New Delhi, have also been booked for the international passengers. 

The Delhi government has asked each district magistrates to arrange for a stay in their respective districts. The New Delhi District Magistrate will create a paid quarantine facility near the airport. All the evacuees who will land in Delhi will have to spend 14-days in the quarantine facilities and undergo medical tests mandatorily. Meanwhile, the passengers who are not residents of Delhi will be looked by the Resident Commissioners and nodal officers of their respective states. 

Delhi govt issues guidelines 

The Delhi Government on Wednesday issued guidelines for handling of the passengers coming from abroad under the Centre's massive evacuation operation to bring back stranded Indians from across the world. The guidelines highlighted points of coordination that were needed between the nodal officers of the MEA and the Delhi government from making available a detailed list of the passengers to the arrangement of medical teams for quarantine. 

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'Vande Bharat' Mission

In a major relief for Indians stranded abroad, the Centre on Monday announced that their travel will be arranged via aircraft and naval ships in a phased manner. The Ministry of Home Affairs also issued the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the movement of the returnees. The mission will go on for 7 days and will rescue stranded Indians from over 11 countries in 64 flights carrying over 14,800 people. According to the SOP, those wishing to return to India must register themselves with the Indian Missions in the country where they are stranded, along with necessary details as prescribed by the MEA.

The National carrier Air India is all set to take off its first flight from New Delhi to Singapore on Thursday to bring back stranded citizens. Reportedly, the fight is set to return to New Delhi on Friday. 

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