Coronavirus Outbreak: Air India flight brings back stranded Indian students from China
New Delhi : Amid coronavirus outbreak, an Air India Boeing 747 has brought back the Indian students stranded in Wuhan (China) on Saturday. Five doctors from Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and an Air India paramedic was on the plane with the passengers.
The infected passengers are a big challenge for the cabin crew; all of the students will be examined thoroughly by the medical practitioners. India has scheduled another flight to China on February 1.
The Indians evacuated from Wuhan will be quarantined in a specially prepared facility in Manesar near Delhi, the Indian Army, which has mounted a full-fledged operation for this purpose, said.
The students will be monitored for the next two weeks for the sign of coronavirus.
Upon their arrival in India they will be screened at the airport by a joint team of Airport Health Authority (AHO) and Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). Individuals suspected of infection will be shifted to an isolation ward at Base Hospital Delhi Cantonment (BHDC).
During the screening students will be classified into three groups.
The first group will consist of "suspected cases" - individuals with signs of fever/cough and/or respiratory distress. These will be transferred directly to the BHDC.
The second group will consist of "close contact cases" - those who do not show symptoms but have visited seafood or animal markets (the virus is suspected to have broken out at a seafood market in Wuhan) or have had contact with a Chinese person showing symptoms in the last 14 days.
Such individuals will be escorted, in an earmarked vehicle, directly to the facility.
The third group will be referred to as "non-contact cases". These are individuals who do not display any symptoms or have not had contact with a possibly infected Chinese person in the past fortnight.
All individuals in the facility will wear three-layered masks and undergo daily medical examination. If, after 14 days, they show no symptoms, they will be allowed to go home.
India had reported its first case of Coronavirus in Kerala a couple of days back.
