Amid new virus strain scare, 20 passengers who arrived in India on separate flights from London have tested positive for Covid-19. This even as the Government claimed that there is no trace so far of the new strain of coronavirus in India.
Of the travellers who tested positive seven landed in Amritsar, five in Delhi, four in Ahmedabad, including a British national, two in Kolkata, one in Chennai. One is a crew member of Air India.
While the Government on Tuesday claimed that there is no trace of new variant of the Covid-19 detected in the UK in India, on the first day itself of issuing guidelines to check the virus, the detection of so many Covid positive fliers from Britain arriving here is a cause of serious concern.
The new strain is said to be more transmissible and affecting the younger population.
While their samples have been sent to the National Centre for Disease Control for research, the detection suggests that the mutated virus may be already doing the rounds in the country, sources in the Union Health Ministry said.
The test results of passengers who arrived from the United Kingdom have raised serious question on safety of air passengers as to whether proper screening is being done before they board the plane in foreign destination.
In India, rules clearly stated that passenger have to give self-declaration certifying that he is not carrying the coronavirus. In some cases,
airline insisted test report to ensure the passenger is coronavirus free.
“International travellers from the UK who arrived in India from November 25 to December 8, 2020 (the first and second week starting November 25) will be contacted by District Surveillance Officers and advised to self-monitor their health. If anyone among them develops symptoms, they will take the RT-PCR test and standard follow-up action would be initiated,” as per the document released here for epidemiological surveillance and response to the new variant.
In fact, sources in the Ministry said efforts are already on to contact those who arrived in India from the UK in this period i.e. from November 25 to December 8. Though at a press conference, Dr VK Paul, Niti Aayog member, said that the new strain that has been spreading rapidly in the
UK has not been detected in India yet but the SOP clearly rings alarm bells.
Six passengers who tested positive on their arrival in India were among the 266 who travelled by the Air India Flight that landed in the national Capital at 10.40 pm on Monday. A passenger who returned from the United Kingdom via Delhi to Chennai has tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday. His sample has been sent to Pune to
check if it is the new strain of the virus.
Seven passengers and a crew member who arrived here from the UK in an Air India flight tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday. Among the infected passengers are six men and two women.
The Air India flight from London had landed at Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport with 250 passengers and 22 crew members at 12.30 am last night.
Earlier in the day, some of the passengers protested against the authorities over the alleged delay in carrying out their coronavirus tests.
In Ahmedabad, four out of the 275 passengers including a British national who have arrived from the United Kingdom have tested positive for coronavirus.
As many as 260 Air India passengers in Delhi, 199 British Airways passengers, 271 Air India fliers in Ahmedabad, 243 in Amritsar and 590 passengers from different flights at Mumbai who arrived from the United Kingdom, have tested negative so far.
Two passengers, who arrived from the UK, tested positive for Covid-19 at Kolkata airport on Sunday. A flight carrying 222 passengers from the UK arrived at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport on Sunday night. According to officials, 25 passengers did not have Covid reports with them. So they were taken to a nearby quarantine centre, and their coronavirus tests were conducted and of them two tested positive.
The Government on Monday said all UK-India flights will be suspended from December 23 to December 31 in view of the emergence of a new coronavirus strain in that country.
Wednesday, 23 December 2020 | Rajesh Kumar/ Archana Jyoti | New Delhi
