The repatriated citizens will have to pay for flight tickets (File)
China has offered to repatriate its citizens who want to return home. On Monday, a notice in Mandarin was put up on the website of the Chinese embassy, asking those wanting to return home to book tickets in special flights at their own expense.
"Through the unified arrangement of the ministry of foreign affairs and relevant departments, the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in India will assist international students in India, tourists, temporary business visitors who have difficulties and are in urgent need to take a temporary flight back home to China," the notice read.
The move comes at a time when Chinese and Indian troops have been skirmishing in Sikkim and Ladakh.
The Chinese embassy's notice shared detailed guidelines on the safety measures needed by those who opt to return. Only those who did not catch the infection or have no symptoms of coronavirus like fever or cough will be allowed and they will have to accept all quarantine and epidemic prevention arrangements, China said.
India today touched the 10th position in the list of top 10 nations hit by the hugely infectious virus after four days of record spikes in the number of cases.
The country registered 6,977 new patients in the last 24 hours, taking the total to nearly 1.38 lakh cases. The number of COVID-19 linked deaths has crossed the 4,000-mark after 154 patients died in a single day.
The increase in the number of cases in India comes amid relaxations by the government, two months after a countrywide lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The coronavirus, which was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, has spread to over 190 countries, infecting over 54 lakh people and costing 3.4 lakh lives. India had evacuated around 700 Indians from Wuhan in February.