Facilities for flyers from 12 countries hit by coronavirus segregated

On Saturday, the baggage belt, customs clearance area and pick-and-drop point meant for these passengers outside the international arrival terminal were segregated by airport staff.

Passengers arriving at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from 12 countries, the source of a majority of the novel coronavirus cases, will be completely isolated from other international passengers starting the moment they land and until they exit the terminal building.

New baggage tray system at Delhi airport. (HT photo)

On Saturday, the baggage belt, customs clearance area and pick-and-drop point meant for these passengers outside the international arrival terminal were segregated by airport staff. Hitherto, the restriction had been limited to a dedicated customs area that kept them away from other travellers.

The new measures were recommended by Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, who visited IGIA late on Thursday evening to review the screening procedures put in place at the airport.

The 12 countries are China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Nepal and Indonesia. ]

On January 17, India started a medical examination of passengers from China entering India through IGIA for the coronavirus. The list gradually expanded to 12.

On March 3, the health ministry ordered that all international passengers entering the country through IGIA be screened for symptoms of the coronavirus, or Covid-19.

On Saturday, the new restrictions were put in place. “In order to keep passengers from these 12 countries segregated from other international passengers, 20 dedicated counters for their immigration clearance were set up. However, they were getting mixed with other passengers in the baggage belt area and at the pick-and-rop point outside the terminal,” an airport official said, asking not to be named.

Now, after the minister’s directions, a dedicated baggage belt has been set aside for passengers from the 12 countries and a makeshift arrangement made in the customs area (green channel) to keep them completely away from other travellers, the official said.

Delhi customs also issued a public notice saying anyone exhibiting symptoms of he novel coronavirus will be quarantined in a hospital.

Anyone detected with symptoms of the coronavirus at the airport is being sent directly to hospitals.

So far, 24 people have been sent to hospitals directly from Delhi airport, officials said. These 24 were among 240,000 foreign passengers who were scanned at Delhi airport until Thursday morning since January 17.

A delay in immigration clearances has been one fallout of the process that requires airport officials and medical staff to note down the contact details of all passengers so that they can be reached later if they develop symptoms of coronavirus.

The total number of airports where passengers are being screened for Covid-19 symptoms are now 30, making it about 75,000 air passengers to be screened each day at airports across the country.

Delhi has the maximum-- around 22-25,000 passengers flying in each day.

Eighty-nine medical personnel are being deployed at IGIA on a daily basis.

“The protocol for 12 high-risk countries remains with dedicated aero-bridges, and for the rest we have set up dedicated screening counters. There isn’t much difference; average wait time per person for screening is about 12-14 minute, with an increase of on average about eight minutes, during the non-lean period,” said Arun Kumar, director general civil aviation.

Unless the health team has stamped a passenger’s passport, he or she won’t be allowed at the immigration desk.

Close to 650,000 passengers have been screened across 21 airports since January 17.