CORONAVIRUS | Wisma Putra is making preparations to bring back 323 Malaysians from Italy and 55 from Iran, following the worsening Covid-19 outbreak in the two countries.

Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein (photo) said the preparations included identifying the locations of all Malaysians in the two countries as well as ensuring they were registered with the Malaysian embassies in Italy and Iran.

“This is important to facilitate our representatives to obtain accurate and latest information for the mission to bring them back,” he said on his Facebook page today.

The minister also appealed to Malaysians in Italy and Iran, or in other Covid-19 affected countries to stay calm and be patient.

"The government and Wisma Putra will do its best to assist. The important thing is to keep communicating with our representatives there. Let's pray for all initiatives to proceed smoothly,” he said.

On March 13, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the government would be bringing back Malaysians who are in Italy and Iran through special missions.

For the record, Malaysia had succeeded in flying back its citizens in Wuhan, China via two Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief missions.

In the first mission, the government flew back 107 Malaysians and their family members trapped in Hubei province on Feb 4, while the second mission involved 66 people from the same province on Feb 26. 

Track Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia here.

- Bernama