14 days quarantine must for UK returnees in Delhi

Chaos at IGI as revised rules catch passengers unaware

A last- minute revision of coronavirus testing and isolation rules for those arriving in Delhi from the UK led to chaos at the Indira Gandhi Airport on Friday with passengers complaining that the changes had taken them by surprise and left dozens — many with infants — scrambling to find solutions. Restricted number of flights to and from the UK resumed on Friday.

The confusion arose from a Delhi government notification issued early Friday morning, which said passengers arriving from the UK have to undergo seven days’ institutional quarantine followed by a seven- day home quarantine even if they test negative for the virus.

The notification was issued after an appeal by Delhi chief minister Kejriwal — asking the centre to extend the ban on flights from the UK till January 31 — failed. The notification, tweeted by Mr Kejriwal at 2.30 pm, was issued after flights from London had taken off. On Friday morning an Air India flight from the UK landed in Delhi with 246 passengers on board.

Several passengers, unaware and unprepared for the mandatory quarantine, took to Twitter to highlight their grievances and the situation. While some posted pictures of infants who were now without baby food others complained that they had got tested prior to boarding flights and were carrying their negative report in order to fulfil the Indian government’s requirement for flying in.

Hours later, in the evening, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport tweeted a clarification of coronavirus testing and isolation rules for all passengers arriving on flights from the United Kingdom, stating, all passengers

coming from the UK have to undergo RT- PCR tests both at origin and destination, and that all passengers — including those testing negative — have to undergo seven days’ institutional quarantine, followed by a further seven days' of home isolation. The airport authorities also said that the waiting time for Covid test results could extend up to 10 hours and that the cost of the test and intervening stay had to be borne by the passengers. The tweet did not say if exceptions could be made for certain groups, such as pregnant women.

Across the country 11 more patients were found to be carriers of the new mutant variant of the UK Covid- 19 virus, taking the total number of such persons to 82.

The Centre had suspended services between the two countries on December 23 over the new and more contagious strain of the coronavirus. While India has lifted the ban, many major European countries like France, Spain and Germany have extended it.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi has called a meeting with the chief ministers of states and UTs on Monday to discuss the Covid- 19 vaccine rollout plan. The meeting will be held through video conferencing. On Friday, another round of dry run for the Covid- 19 vaccination programme was conducted across the country to check the delivery system and preparedness of those trained.

India on Friday reported 18,139 fresh cases and 234 new deaths from the virus.

Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan visited a few session sites in Tamil Nadu.