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Singapore and Kuwait have become the countries with the largest number of expatriate Indians infected with the coronavirus, accounting for more than half of the 6,200 such infections reported worldwide, people familiar with the events said on Monday.
As of the end of last week, more than 2,300 infections had been reported in Singapore among Indian nationals, most of them workers living in student residences, and more than 1,300 infections were reported among expatriate Indians in Kuwait, the above-mentioned people said on condition of anonymity.
Other countries where considerable amounts of Covid-19 infections have been reported among Indians are Bahrain and Qatar (approximately 500 each) and Iran (approximately 300), the people said.
Iran was the first country where large numbers of Indians were infected with the coronavirus last month. Most of them were elderly Shiite pilgrims from Kashmir and states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, and most of the infections occurred in the holy city of Qom.
Indian diplomats worked with Iranian authorities to create a special facility in Qom to treat infected Indians, who are now expected to return from Iran once the national shutdown is eased next month.
As of April 16, the total number of infected Indians in 53 countries was 3,336 and this almost doubled to 6,200 last week. The total number of infected Indians who have died abroad is currently around 40, the people said.
The well-being and treatment of infected Indians has figured in talks between the prime minister and the foreign minister and their counterparts in countries like Singapore and Kuwait.
During a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 23, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said his government “will take care of Indian migrant workers here, just as we take care of Singaporeans.”
Indians now account for almost a quarter of the more than 11,000 Covid-19 cases reported in Singapore as of last week. Most of Singapore’s infections are work permit holders living in dormitories of foreign workers, and 25 of these dormitories have been designated as isolation areas so far, Channel News Asia reported.
The well-being of Indian citizens was also featured in Modi’s recent phone conversation with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah, who said his government “values the contributions of the great Indian community … and will continue guaranteeing their safety and well-being in the current situation. ”
