Coronavirus update: Govt rolls out universal screening for all flights, passengers

Union Minister for Health Dr Harsh Vardhan said Wednesday that henceforth, all passengers whether Indian or foreign arriving on international flights will be required to go through medical screening while entering India.

This is a big departure from the screening process that was followed as of Tuesday when passengers arriving from 12 select countries were being screened at the airports across India.

Speaking to reporters after a high-level meeting in the concerned officials, Dr Harsh Vardhan further stated that 5.89 lakh people have been screened at several airports so far where around 20 lakh have been screened at borders with Nepal and over 27,000 under community surveillance presently.

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Urging people not to panic, the health minister said that everyone must follow basic hygiene and those with flu-like symptoms should consult a doctor.

He added that there are 28 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India so far. These 28 confirmed cases comprise three patients from Kerala who were discharged after recovery last month. Meanwhile, the rest 25 cases were reported this week.

These cases comprise:

• A 45-year-old Delhi resident who had returned from Europe recently.
• A 24-year-old techie from Bengaluru who travelled to Hyderabad from the city after landing from Dubai.
• Six people from Agra who caught the infection after coming in contact with the Delhi-based patient.
• A group of 16 Italian tourists who visited Rajasthan and Agra.
• One Indian driver who escorted the Italian tourists.

All of these people who tested positive for coronavirus are currently placed in the isolation wards at several hospitals and quarantine facilities across the country.

The health minister enunciated that the government is in the process of tracking people who came in contact with those infected by coronavirus.

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