16 of 78 Afghan evacuees who arrived in Delhi on Tuesday test Covid +ve

Sixteen out of 78 Afghanistan evacuees who reached India on Tuesday have tested positive for Covid-19.

Reports said that the infected evacuees also include the three Sikhs who brought back with them copies of Guru Granth Sahib from several Afghanistan Gurudwaras.

All 16 returnees are said to be asymptomatic, but as a precaution, all 78 have been quarantined.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri who was at the Delhi airport to receive Sikhs also came in contact with the infected people.

Puri had received the copies of the Sikh holy book from the Afghan granthis and had carried one on his head out of the airport.

Also watch: 'Airport road blocked': Taliban say Afghans not allowed to leave country

India has been evacuating its citizens as well as Afghan nationals who are fleeing the country since the Taliban takeover.

A total of 626 people, including 228 Indian citizens, have been evacuated from Afghanistan till now, informed Minister Hardeep Puri. He also informed that 77 among them were Afghan Sikhs. The number of Indian citizens evacuated does not include those working in the Indian Embassy, Puri added.