New Delhi: The situation in Italy, which is one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, continues to remain “dynamic”, said Reenat Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to Rome.
The Italian government has now extended the lockdown to 13 April from 3 April and is also taking all the necessary precautions to fight the pandemic.
“The situation in Italy continues to be dynamic. There is a severe health emergency with more than 13,000 deaths reported till 2 April and over 1,10,000 total cases of coronavirus,” Sandhu told ThePrint in an email interview.
She said the Indian embassy in Rome has been helping the Indian students who continue to remain stranded. The embassy has asked the students “to stay connected” so that it can share regular updates and important information with them.
As of 2 April, Italy has 1,10,574 Covid-19 cases and 13,157 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Some improvement in last 3 days
Sandhu said there has been some improvement in the situation in the last three days in terms of the number of new cases reported and “the hope is that the situation will stabilise in the coming days”.
“The government of Italy has extended the lockdown period from 3 April to 13 April to ensure that the positive results of the lockdown are not lost and necessary precautions are maintained till a clear trend of stability emerges,” Sandhu added.
So far, over 400 Indian nationals have been evacuated since March by special flights operated by Air India. The last batch of 263 Indians arrived on 22 March, who were kept at the quarantine facility of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Delhi.
Also read: Lessons from Italy on Covid-19 and how India’s lockdown turned shambolic
Addressing concerns of Indians in Italy
Sandhu told ThePrint in these trying times the embassy is “reaching out” to the Indian community to address their concerns.
“In the prevailing circumstances, we are reaching out to the community to assure them of our availability to address any concerns they might have. We are also stressing that during this phase, it is important to avoid non-essential travel and stay where they are to keep themselves safe, to follow the necessary health precautions and move out only for essential work as per the advisories issued by the Italian authorities,” she said.
The envoy further said the Italian government has ensured that all basic and essential services, including grocery stores, pharmacies, banks and public transport, are operational.
The National Health Service of Italy is running a helpline that can be accessed by anyone to obtain medical advice and assistance if they experience any coronavirus-like symptoms.
‘Do not panic’
Sandhu said the embassy’s top priority is to look after the Indian nationals in Italy, and listed a number of initiatives taken in this regard.
“… In this extraordinary situation, the embassy’s main priority has been to serve the Indian nationals living and working in Italy. For this a number of initiatives have been undertaken, including operation of four 24×7 helplines and regular messaging to the various Indian community groups. NGOs, community support groups, gurudwaras and other organisations are stepping forward to support the embassy’s efforts,” she added.
The embassy has also cautioned Indians to beware of fraudster calls “threatening with deportation or fines due to some wrong entries in immigration forms/passports”.
“At this time, our message to everyone is ‘Do Not Panic’,” she added.
Also read: This is how coronavirus lockdowns have worked in China, S. Korea, Italy and US