Indian tourists stuck in Bali, Kuala Lumpur and Uzbekistan cries for help
The total number of novel coronavirus-positive cases in India has risen to 169. Three fatalities have also been registered. Italy has lost 2,500 people to Covid-19 and these numbers don’t seem to be slowing down.
The novel coronavirus has impacted all forms of livelihood. Countries like Spain and Italy are on lockdown.
Meanwhile Malaysia is on a Movement Control Order. People are practising self-quarantine in an attempt to curb the spread of the novel virus.
These measures are taken to also put a halt on the increasing number of cases, governments of various countries, including India, has put a ban on people entering their country from abroad.
India has banned the entry of people flying in from Europe, Turkey and the UK from March 18 to 31. People on vacation or business tours outside the country are currently stuck on foreign lands.
Reports of a lot of passengers being stuck at the Bali airport are going viral Twitter. One user shared pictures from the Bali airport and wrote, “150 plus Indians stuck at Bali airport.
Many more in Bali, no help from the Indonesian government, no support from Air Asia. And other flight tickets are too expensive #helpneeded #indiansstuckatbaliairport,” and he tagged Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in his tweet.
Meanwhile there are also groups of people stranded in Singapore as well. User Priti uploaded a video sharing their plight in Marathi with a status ” This is my school friend’s friend & her son is stuck at Singapore airport.This is current status and these children have been contacted by Indian officials but parents are waiting for updates..”
Mahima Gupta a medical student from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal shares her plight on her worries due to the increasing Covid 19 cases in Malaysia.
In her tweet she said ” I’m Mahima Gupta from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and on March 12th I came to Malaysia for a surgery internship however the number of cases are rapidly rising and I wish to return home to India but the recent travel advisory no flight to India, I kindly urge the Indian authorities to evacuate us from Malaysia”.
India has evacuated its 405 citizens, including students, stranded at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Indian High Commission here said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Indian government approved AirAsia flights for Delhi and Vizag to help the stranded Indians.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said on Monday Malaysia will effectively be hitting pause on all non-essential activities for two weeks from tomorrow (March 18) until March 31 to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus under a nationwide movement control order.
This nationwide ban implements a pause on public gatherings including any religious, sports, social and cultural events except for supermarkets, sundry goods stores, markets and other places selling daily necessities or the needful.
By: Hema Subramaniam
