NEW DELHI: Some of the Indian pilgrims and students in Iran , who have tested negative for Covid-19 but who had refused to leave behind their friends/family members who had been infected, will now return to India, according to sources.Acknowledging that there would be several Indians who have tested positive for Covid-19, Damu Ravi, additional secretary in MEA, told journalists “they have been very looked after by Indian mission in coordination with Govt of Iran".India has faced some opposition from pilgrims and students in Iran who should be evacuated — India is bringing back those who test negative for the disease. However, many of them have reportedly complained that the ones affected have not been isolated or treated in hospitals in Iran.It has taken assurances by leaders of two prominent Shia religious bodies, Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust and Islamic School, Kargil to the Indians in Iran to convince them to follow government protocol.Responding to a report in a news portal that said 254 Indians in Iran had tested positive for COVID, Ravi declined to confirm the number, though admitting many Indians had been infected.As foreign minister S. Jaishankar said in Lok Sabha, of the 6000 Indian nationals in Iran, there are “1,100 pilgrims mainly from the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, and the State of Maharashtra; nearly 300 students primarily from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir; about 1,000 fishermen from the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat; and others who are on longer-term stay visas in Iran for pursuing their livelihood and religious studies.”Stressing that securing the homeland was key to government policy on evacuations, Jaishankar said the first priority was to the pilgrims, mainly in Qom (which has seen a massive outbreak). “The initial focus is on visiting pilgrims. Many of them are in Qom, where Coronavirus incidence has been strong. The nature of residency also increases the risks of exposure. Age is also a factor to be taken into account. As their welfare is being currently addressed, we are now focusing on Indian students. Many of them are studying medicine and are fully aware of the precautions to be taken in this difficult situation. The Embassy is in regular contact with them as a group. Our understanding is that the region where most fishermen are located has not been affected so severely.”India has evacuated 1444 nationals from different Covid-infected countries in the past weeks, sources said. These include 766 from China, 124 from Japan, 336 from Iran and 218 from Italy so far.Both Iran and Italy evacuations have tested the Indian authorities and the missions in these countries. Iran being completely overwhelmed by the scale of the outbreak, it has been left to India to fend for itself. So India had to send its own testing labs, and medical teams to collect swabs and samples to be tested. The teams moved from Qom to Tehran, battling significant difficulties in moving between towns, officials said. In Italy, the problem was compounded by the fact that Lombardy region was completely under a lockdown.Officials said India made its first determination about COVID in end-December. By January 15, the government had started screening passengers at the airports, particularly from China where the virus outbreak originated. “As a large and densely populated country, it was important that we make an effort to minimise the impact of this new disease,” officials said.Modi told SAARC leaders on Sunday evening, “We have tried to take proactive steps, including a graded response mechanism. … We have also increased diagnostic capabilities. Within two months, we moved from one major facility for pan-India testing, to more than 60 such labs.”He said, India has “developed protocols for each stage of managing this pandemic: for screening at entry points; contact tracing of suspected cases; quarantine and management of isolation facilities; and for discharge of cleared cases.”