97 Indian passengers stranded in Singapore due to coronavirus travel restrictions

Nearly 100 Indian travellers, arriving from the Philippines and Malaysia, are stranded at Singapore's Changi Airport and are unable to get back home due to the travel restrictions imposed by India in response to the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic, the Indian High Commission said here on Thursday.

The Commission said it was working out arrangements to put the 97 stranded Indians on a flight back to India. Most of these Indian passengers arrived from the Philippines and Malaysia, the Indian High Commission said. Due to Singapore's own travel restrictions on visitors coming from or through ASEAN region, these passengers cannot enter Singapore, it said.

"We have worked with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation to facilitate the return of these Indians back home," India's High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf told PTI on Thursday. "We are also working with Air India, Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport to get the stranded passengers flight back to India and lend support during their stay in transit," Ashraf said.

Officials at the High Commission are at the Changi Airport assisting the 97 passengers with arrangements for food, freshening up and any other assistance needed in the airport transit area. Most of the passengers had travelled through Malaysia and faced stringent arrival and departure procedures both in India and Malaysia. Malaysia has shut its borders, not allowing foreigners in and have also ordered its citizens not to travel.

India has also restricted arrival of passengers from some countries including Malaysia and the Philippines. The Singapore Airlines has agreed to fly the stranded passengers to India, as there is no scheduled Air India flight for Thursday.

The Delhi administration is in the process of clearing the passengers for entry into India. India on Monday banned the entry of passengers from Europe, Turkey and the UK from March 18 till March 31 to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

Singapore on Wednesday advised its citizens to defer all foreign travel plans as it reported 47 new coronavirus cases, mostly imported ones, taking the total number of infections in the country to 313. The coronavirus outbreak has killed 8,809 people and infected 218,631 across 157 countries and territories, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

READ: Coronavirus Live Updates: Cases Soar Over 180, PM Modi To Address The Nation At 8 Pm