Covid-19 update: At Delhi airport, repatriated Indians to be screened, split into groups

The Delhi government on Wednesday passed an order defining the setting standard operating procedures for the movement of such repatriated passengers at the Delhi airport.

Stranded Indians who are to be evacuated from other countries and flown to New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport will be screened and primarily be divided in three categories — those with Covid-like symptoms, those who have been in touch Covid patients and asymptomatic people.

Around 11 flights bringing in stranded Indians will land in the Delhi airport once the exercise begins. (Ajay Aggarwal/representative photo)

People with symptoms of the infectious disease will be straightaway sent to hospitals, while those who have been in touch with Covid-19 patients will be sent to quarantine facilities. The rest will be asked to fill out a declaration form and to quarantine themselves at home.

The Delhi government on Wednesday passed an order defining the setting standard operating procedures for the movement of such repatriated passengers at the Delhi airport. The passports of those sent to home quarantine will only be returned at the airport, the order said.

The order said the passengers will be escorted out of the plane by airline staff using dedicated aerobridges and will arrive at the APHO health counters for initial thermal screening. Here, symptomatic passengers will be isolated and moved to designated hospitals. The staff present inside the aircraft and those on the ground will ensure that arriving passengers have filled their self-reporting forms (SRF) properly.

It mentioned that the passports shall not be handed over to passengers in any case.

Passengers will then be taken to the conveyor belts. “If there is any delayed or missing luggage, the respective passenger shall stay behind along with a team member while the rest shall proceed to the customs area and move to the triage area manned by Delhi government officials,” said the order.

At the designated triage area, there would be five screening counters manned by medical officers and paramedical staff deputed by Delhi government.

“At the assigned counter, the passports of the entire batch will be handed over by the CISF team leader to the medical officer in-charge of the counter. Passengers will be screened and those without any risk factors will be sent for home quarantine after providing them their passports. A declaration will be collected from them stating that they will remain strictly under home quarantine, or face penal action, as per rules,” the order said.

It said, these passengers will be linked to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) and that the government will depute a Delhi State IDSP team for this purpose.

“The remaining high-risk passengers will be sent to various quarantine facilities. They too will be first asked to fill up a declaration where they will be asked to choose between a paid or government quarantine facility (based on availability). The escort team will then move these passengers to the transport provided by the state government to be taken to their designated quarantine facilities,” it said.