'Passengers carried negative lab reports': Air India on 19 Indians testing COVID-19 positive on Wuhan flight

Air India on Tuesday came out with a clarification saying Indians who had boarded a flight from Delhi to China held a negative COVID-19 report from a certified lab. Air India said, "All our passengers to Wuhan boarded the flight from Delhi with negative Covid reports from certified labs". The airline added it strictly follows all safety protocols laid down by the regulatory body. "There is no question of passengers boarding any of our flights without valid Covid reports," it added.

All Indian passengers needed to undergo two coronavirus tests before being permitted to board the flights. Total 19 Indian passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on the October 30th flight from New Delhi to the Chinese city of Wuhan under the Vande Bharat Mission. Besides the 19 Indians who tested positive, antibodies were found in the tests of 39 others. The passengers who tested positive were shifted to the hospital.

As per the protocols circulated by Chinese officials, all those who tested positive will be referred to hospitals and will be released only after they test negative. Protocols also stipulate 14-day mandatory quarantine in the designated hotels for all those arriving in China.

The October 30 Air India flight, the sixth operated by India to China in recent months and the first to Wuhan, brought 277 Indians from New Delhi and evacuated 157 on its return under India's mega mission to evacuate stranded Indians from abroad.

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