Centre now cautions against travel to S Korea, Iran, Italy
CORONAVIRUS In fresh advisory, govt says travellers from 3 countries may be quarantined
NEW DELHI: Following a spike in the number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in destinations outside of China, the Indian government on Wednesday issued a fresh travel advisory, cautioning people to avoid non-essential travel to South Korea, Iran and Italy. This is in addition to an advisory against travel to China, Hong Kong and Singapore, which are countries that have reported local transmissions of the infection.
“People coming from Republic of Korea, Iran and Italy or having such travel history since 10th February 2020 may be quarantined for 14 days on arrival to India,” the health ministry said in a statement after a meeting on the COVID-19 outbreak in China in December last year.
“In view of the evolving situation related to COVID-19 being reported from other countries, besides the travel advisories already issued by the health ministry a fresh advisory has been issued today after the review of global situation,” the statement added.
On Saturday, India expanded thermal screening of passengers to include people returning from six more countries--nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea -- at the country’s airports and major seaports.
According t o t he earlier directive of January 17, passengers coming from China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore were being screened using thermal scanners.
“Passengers from 10 countries are now being screened for symptoms since Monday, February 24,” said a senior health ministry official, who requested anonymity.
Signs of the novel coronavirus include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough and breathing difficulties.
The decision was taken after a review meeting chaired by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba on Saturday morning.
Since passenger screening began at 21 airports and major sea ports across the country, 397,152 flight passengers and 9,695 travellers at sea ports have been screened for symptoms of COVID-19.
Under the government’s integrated disease surveillance programme, around 24,000 passengers who have travelled to China are being kept under observation.
Close to 3,000 samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far by designated laboratories across the country.
“Apart from the initial three, no new sample has tested positive for the virus,” said a scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), who didn’t want to be named.
All 645 evacuees from Wuhan, the city in China’s Hubei province that’s the epicentre of the outbreak, who were airlifted home on February 1 and 2, and placed under 14 days of mandatory quarantine in and around Delhi, were discharged by February 18. These evacuees were directed to stay under home quarantine for 14 more days as a precautionary measure.
India has so far detected three confirmed COVID-19 cases, all in Kerala, and all have been discharged from hospital after being cured.
India is planning another flight to Wuhan to evacuate the remaining Indian citizens in the city.
So far, at least 2,715 people have died of the novel coronavirus in China, where 78,064 cases have been reported, mostly in the central province of Hubei. South Korea has reported 1,261 cases and 11 deaths and Iran 139 cases and 19 deaths. In Italy, 323 cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported, and 11 have died.