3 int’l flyers COVID +ve; samples sent for Omicron test
CHENNAI: Three international air travellers, including a child, who had arrived in Tamil Nadu from Singapore and the United Kingdom have tested positive for COVID-19. Their swab samples have been sent to the State Public Health Laboratory to check for the presence of the Omicron variant.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Friday said that a 55-year-old passenger from Singapore, who arrived at the Tiruchy airport was admitted to the Tiruchy Government Medical College Hospital while a 10-year-old girl from London who arrived at the Chennai airport, was at the special ward at the King’s Institute COVID hospital in Guindy. Three family members who travelled with the 10-year-old tested negative and were put under quarantine. Another individual from the UK who arrived in Chennai this morning also tested positive.
“The three samples were sent for genomic sequencing to Bengaluru. Intensive checks and testing have been carried out among all passengers on these flights from London and Singapore. The flight attendants were also screened and cautioned,” he said.
The Health Minister added that the Health Department already alerted all international airports in Tamil Nadu to conduct compulsory checks for all passengers arriving from ‘at- risk’ countries. “Separate wards at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Tamil Nadu Multi Super speciality Hospital, Omandurar, and Kings Institute, Guindy, are ready to treat those testing positive at the airport post RT-PCR reports. The government headquartered hospitals in Madurai, Tiruchy and Coimbatore have also set up special wards to treat those testing positive,” he said.
The Health Department has decided to conduct random testing on 2% travellers from non-risk countries at the four airports in Tamil Nadu. So far, 1,868 people have been screened and tested at the four airports in the State.