NEW DELHI/GURGAON: Air Indias special flight flew back from Wuhan, ground zero of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, with the first batch of 324 Indians on Saturday morning. Later in the day, another Boeing 747 took off for Wuhan to evacuate an estimated 300-350 more Indians. Its scheduled to return Sunday morning.
“Six Indians were not allowed to board the flight at Wuhan by Chinese authorities, as they were running fever. In all, 211 students, 110 people working in the region and three minors boarded the B747 Ajanta which took off from Wuhan at 1.40am and reached Delhi at 7.26am,” said an AI official.
While everyone tested negative in the initial round of screening, high alert and precaution have been advised. For the next two weeks, all the returnees who were taken to two isolation facilities will undergo tests twice a day, where their pulse, temperature and any fluctuations in the immunity system will be monitored.
Meanwhile, two more persons with coronavirus symptoms were admitted at RML, taking the total suspected cases at the hospital to eight.
After the flight from Wuhan landed, the passengers and their baggage were dropped at a remote bay where special camps were set up by immigration and customs for clearances, so that the returnees do not pass through the terminal.
ITBP buses took them to the two quarantine centres set up at Manesar (managed by Armed Forces Medical Services) and Chhawla camp (managed by ITBP). The jumbo jet used for the flight is being fumigated.
A senior Army officer said all passengers cleared the initial screening at the airport but this may not mean that none of them is carrying the virus. “Although theres nothing to panic as top medical experts are being provided, we need to observe the evacuees for the next 15 days. The reason being, we want to detect the virus, if any, at the early stage for better treatment,” the officer told TOI.
A police officer stationed about 1km ahead of the Manesar camp, said, “Our task is to ensure that this centre remains isolated without any disturbance. We have orders to ensure that nobody comes within a 500-metre range of the centres gate. Only people with clearances from higher officials will only be allowed in.”
All Army and police personnel on guard will be on rotational duty, with one batch of 15 personnel being replaced every two hours.
Another AI B747, “Agra”, then took off for Wuhan at 1.37pm on Saturday and landed at the Chinese city at 5.42pm (both IST). AIs director operations, Captain Amitabh Singh, who supervised the first flight, is overseeing the second one too. The flight took off with the same set of doctors from Delhis RML Hospital as the first flight.
About 350 Indians are expected to fly to Delhi on the second flight, although the exact number will be known once boarding is completed. Since coronavirus has reduced the once bustling city of Wuhan to a virtual ghost town, even the airport wears a deserted look with very few officials there. AI staffers and the health team from India are allowed very limited movement at the airport, with heavy screening being carried out by Chinese authorities.
“Due to this, instead of 10pm,Read More – Source
[contf]
[contfnew]
times of india
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
