19 Passengers On Air India Flight Test COVID Positive On Arrival At Wuhan

19 Passengers on Air India’s Delhi-Wuhan flight last Friday (30th Oct) under Vande Bharat Mission test positive for COVID-19 on arrival at Wuhan.

In addition, around 39 of the 277 passengers on the Air India Delhi-Wuhan flight were also found to have COVID-19 antibodies.

“All our passengers to Wuhan had boarded the flight from Delhi with Covid negative reports from certified labs. AI strictly adheres to all the safety protocols laid down by regulatory bodies and conforms to requirements at destination airports. There is no question of passengers boarding any of our flights without valid covid negative reports.” An Air India official said.

All the Indian passengers needed to undergo two coronavirus tests before being permitted to board the flights.

The passengers who tested positive were shifted to hospitals, Indian officials said. They, however, were not able to provide information about 39 others whose tests reported antibodies and whether they were also referred to hospitals.

As per the protocols circulated by Chinese officials, all those who tested positive will be referred to hospitals and will be released only after they test negative.

Protocols also stipulate a 14-day mandatory quarantine in the designated hotels for all those arriving in China.

The flight to Wuhan also carried the largest number of Indian passengers from Delhi compared to the previous VBM flights.

There is a big rush for VBM flights from India to China as Beijing has recently lifted the temporary ban on holders of resident permit visas. About 1,500 to 2,000 Indians who are either working in China or connected to businesses want to return.

Earlier, India operated three flights to Wuhan to airlift Indians stranded in the city when the virus was at its peak in the Chinese city in February this year.

The Indian national carrier on Monday announced plans to operate four more such flights to China beginning November 13.

As part of India’s mega mission to evacuate stranded Indians from abroad, Air India is planning to operate four flights to Delhi on November 13, 20, 27, and December 4, the Indian Embassy here announced.

“Passage on this flight would be made available on payment basis as per fares to be decided by Air India. The journey would be subject to an undertaking to be provided by individual passengers to abide by all protocols framed by the Government of India,” a statement by the Embassy said.

Also Read: IndiGo To Offer Pre-Flight COVID-19 Tests In India And 5 More Countries