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

Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, said 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 obtain accurate and latest information for the mission to bring them back,” he said on his official Facebook account today.

He also appealed to Malaysians in Italy and Iran or in other COVID-19 affected countries to stay calm and be patient.

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

On March 13, Prime Minister, Tan Sri 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 (HADR) 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. - BERNAMA