400 who came from affected countries on civic body’s radar

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sought information of 400 passengers from Mumbai who re-entered the country at Delhi after travelling to coronavirus-affected

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sought information of 400 passengers from Mumbai who re-entered the country at Delhi after travelling to coronavirus-affected countries. The civic body has asked the Centre for their information in order to track them down and monitor them for the next 14 days to ensure they do not spread the infection.

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Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said, “We have sought information of all 400 passengers who travelled to coronavirus-affected countries. We will track them to avoid further infection.”

The 400 travellers were screened at the Capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport over the past few days. As they were not sent to isolation wards in Delhi, BMC officials are assuming none of them exhibited symptoms of coronavirus infection. However, the gestation period for the virus is at least 14 days and the BMC plans to track them at their Mumbai addresses.

The BMC’s standing committee on Wednesday also proposed passengers at railway stations and toll plazas be screened like at airports, using thermal scanners, to avoid the spread of coronavirus in the city. “Since coronavirus has spread to Delhi and other cities, likewise in China, screening of passengers at railway stations and toll plazas is necessary,” said Yashwant Jadhav, chairman of the committee.

However, the proposal has been described as impractical by experts. City-based health expert Rajendra Dhage said, “It is impossible to track each passenger at railway stations because railway stations have too many entry and exit gates.” He also said screening at toll plazas may add to congestion on roads.

Railways officials too appeared sceptical about the BMC’s proposal. “It is nearly impossible to inspect all passengers. Apart from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), all other stations also have local trains operating from some platforms,” said senior officer from Central Railway.

He clarified that the BMC had not yet approached the Railways regarding these checks.

Meanwhile, the BMC has cancelled all leave applications from the health department as part of its preparation for a possible coronavirus outbreak. All trained staff in BMC-run hospitals have been instructed to be available round-the-clock.