Indian Govt. Scanned 9156 Passengers From 43 Flights For Novel Coronavirus (nCoV)

A total of 43 flights and 9156 passengers arriving in India from China have been screened for novel Coronavirus illness. Till now, no case has been detected through these screening efforts, said Preeti Sudan, Union Health Secretary while updating on the preparedness measures taken by the Ministry on novel Coronavirus (nCoV) reported in neighbouring country.

These passengers are being screened at the seven identified airports which includes Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin coming from mainland China. Signages have been put up at prominent locations in these airports for encouraging public about self-reporting of illness. Immigration officers manning the counters have been sensitized at these airports.

The union health secretary also stated that passengers travelling from China are being requested to report to the nearest public health facility in case they feel any symptoms.

“As on 22 January, a total of 440 cases of pneumonia with nCoV were detected from China and a total of 9 people have died. Cases have been reported in 13 provinces (including Taiwan) and municipalities,” informed Li Bin, Deputy Head, National Health Commission in China.

As part of the measures taken by the Union Health Ministry and Ministry of Civil Aviation have issued a travel advisory in India.

The Health Ministry is constantly reviewing the evolving scenario working closely with Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Health Research and the Indian Embassy in China.

The Ministry has also approached all States/UTs to review their preparedness, identify gaps and strengthen core capacities needed to prepare for, detect and respond to possible outbreaks.