Sudan conflict continues, 117 returnees unvaccinated against yellow fever quarantined
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New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry said on Saturday that 117 of 1,191 Indians rescued from strife-torn Sudan under Operation Kaveri are currently being quarantined free of charge as they were not vaccinated against yellow fever.
The Ministry of Health is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs under Operation Kaveri. 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.
These passengers are provided rent-free accommodation with free food facility 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 central government hospitals like Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. Arrangements have also been made at RHTC, Najafgarh (100 beds); NITR, Mehrauli (40 beds) and Lady Hardinge Medical College (60 beds), 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," the ministry said.
Two people were released after validation of their vaccination certificates, it said.
The remaining 12 will complete their quarantine period till Saturday evening (as they were in transit for four days at Jeddah).
The third flight arrived in Bengaluru on Friday with 360 passengers, of which 47 passengers were initially quarantined. Three of them were released on Saturday after the verification of vaccination, the ministry stated.
The verification of five more passengers is in process.
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 at Safdarjung Hospital, the ministry said.
"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 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.
The fierce fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitaries entered a third week on Saturday, with both the factions violating a renewed truce.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Despite agreeing to multiple truces, none has effectively taken hold as the number of dead civilians continues to rise and chaos and lawlessness grip Khartoum, a city of five million people where many have been trapped in their homes lacking food, water, and electricity.
The violence has killed at least 528 people and wounded 4,599, the health ministry said Saturday, but those figures are likely to be incomplete.
About 75,000 have been displaced by the fighting and the states of Blue Nile, North Kordofan, as well as the western region of Darfur, the UN said.
The fighting has also triggered a mass exodus of foreigners and international staff.
"What's happening in Darfur is terrible, the society is falling apart, we see tribes that now try to arm themselves," United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said there were reports of widespread looting, destruction, and burning of property, including at camps for displaced people.
