COVID-19: 664 Malaysians still stranded overseas

He said of the total, 190 were Malaysian tabligh pilgrims being quarantined in India.

From this group, 158 have been placed at quarantine centres in New Delhi, 23 in Chennai and nine in Mumbai.

"Fifty-five of the tabligh members have been slapped with charges of abusing their visa by the Indian authorities.

"The ministry through the Malaysian High Commission in New Delhi is still providing consular assistance including food, medicine and daily essentials to the Malaysian tabligh pilgrims currently under quarantine," he told a press conference via Facebook live today.

He said Wisma Putra was making efforts to facilitate the tabligh members’ release from the quarantine centres to bring them home.

Meanwhile, Kamarudin said 14,015 Malaysians have been brought home from 70 countries so far.

He urged Malaysians abroad to keep in touch with the respective Malaysian embassies so that help could be extended to them if necessary.

On Malaysian students in Russia, Kamarudin said Wisma Putra via the Malaysian Embassy there had activated a COVID-19 special task force to help them leave the country before its borders were closed and commercial flights were cancelled.

The last group departed to Malaysia on March 31, he said.

''We have also activated a network of contacts with all Malaysian communities in Russia including students in all locations throughout Russia," he said, adding that the government would assist any Malaysians who wish to fly back at their own expense.

On another matter, he said the Malaysian government would extend its contribution to help Palestinians fight the COVID-19 pandemic, following a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas on April 6.

The aid was a collaboration between government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry and THZ Charity Organisation.

The donation would be channelled to Palestine via the Malaysian Embassy in Amman, Jordan in collaboration with Palestinian Embassy.