A day after it announced suspension of flights from the UK from December 25 to this year-end as a safety precaution in the wake of emergence of a new variant of coronavirus, the Union Health Ministry issued the SOP for the travellers coming from Britain.
The Ministry has mandated RT-PCR test and isolation in a separate unit of an institutional facility if a traveller is found positive.
“The new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, reported in the UK, is estimated by the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) to be more transmissible and affecting a younger population.
“This variant is defined by a set of 17 changes or mutations. One of the most significant is an N501Y mutation in the spike protein that the virus uses to bind to the human ACE2 receptor. Changes in this part of the spike protein may result in the virus becoming more infectious and spreading more easily between people,” the Ministry warned.
It said that all travellers from the UK will be required to declare, according to existing procedure, their travel history of the past 14 days and fill up the self-declaration form to be screened for Covid-19.
All passengers coming from the UK from December 21 to 23 would be subjected to the RT-PCR test on arrival and this has to be ensured by respective State Governments, the SOP stated.
Those found negative in RT-PCR test at the airport would be advised quarantine at home and followed up, while the passengers who are found positive shall be isolated in an institutional isolation facility in a separate unit coordinated by the respective state health authorities. They would earmark specific facilities for such isolation and treatment, it said.
A spike gene-based RT-PCR test should also be performed by an appropriate laboratory in case of a positive sample, the Health Ministry recommended.
Also, contacts of such travellers who were found Covid-19 positive at airport testing would be subjected to institutional quarantine and tested according to ICMR guidelines.
“Necessary action to send the samples to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, or any other appropriate lab for genomic sequencing will be initiated at the facility level.”
In case the report of the sequencing is consistent with the current SARS-CoV-2 virus genome circulating in the country, the ongoing treatment protocol including home isolation and treatment at facility level as per case severity may be followed, the SOP stated.
“If the genomic sequencing indicates the presence of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, then the patient will continue to remain in a separate isolation unit. While necessary treatment as per the existing protocol will be given, the patient shall be tested on 14th day, after having tested positive in the initial test.
“In case the sample is found positive on the 14th day, further samples may be taken until his two consecutive samples taken 24 hours apart are tested negative,” the guidelines stated.
It stated that state-wise passenger manifest of the flights from the UK landing at various airports in India for the past four weeks from November 25 to December 23 shall be conveyed by the Bureau of Immigration to the State Government and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) so that the data would be provided to the surveillance teams.
The list of passengers travelling between December 21 and 23, who are found RT-PCR positive at airport testing, shall be shared with the States by the Central unit of IDSP. They shall be advised quarantine at home and tested as per ICMR guidelines.
Their monitoring would be ensured by the State Governments and IDSP. Those travellers from the UK who arrived in India from November 25 to December 8 will be contacted by district surveillance officers advising them to self-monitor their health and in case of development of symptoms would undergo RT-PCR test.
The list of travellers who arrived in India between December 9 and 23 will be shared with respective States and district surveillance officers for daily follow up till 14 days after their arrival in India.
“The district surveillance officer has to ensure daily follow up of passengers under observation for 28 days starting from date of arrival,” the SOP stated.
Wednesday, 23 December 2020 | PNS | New Delhi
