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The Indian Navy's effort to repatriate citizens stranded by the COVID-19 shutdown has expanded from the Indian Ocean basin to the Persian Gulf. On Monday, the amphib INS Shardul <\/em>departed Bandar Abbas, Iran with 233 Indian nationals on board, bound for Porbandar, Gujarat. <\/p>\n Iranian and Indian authorities pre-sceened the passengers before boarding. While under way, provisions have been made to maintain social distancing with an eye to the possibility of asymptomatic carriers. According to the Indian Navy, the ship is well-prepared and equipped for the evacuation, with extra food stores, medical supplies, and a complement of additional medical staff. Medical equipment specific to dealing with COVID-19 is also on board, the service said. Designated isolation compartments have also been earmarked for contingency purposes. <\/p>\n While the evacuees were preparing to board, Iran reported its highest coronavirus case numbers yet, with nearly 3,600 new cases on Thursday and an additional 2,900 on Friday. The tally puts Iran within the top ten nations worldwide for new cases in recent days, according to the commonly-used tracking tool published by Worldometers.<\/p>\n