Mumbai civic body turns to ward officers, hospitals for info on returnees from UK, Middle East

Civic officials are closely monitoring each passenger and their close contacts

Amidst the fear of the spread of the new strain of Sars-CoV-2, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked ward officers, private hospitals and societies to be vigilant and inform the civic body if they find any passenger from United Kingdom (UK) and the Middle East.

Between November 25 and December 28 as many as 2,600 passengers who have returned from the UK and the Middle East have been contacted. (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

So far, between November 25 and December 28 as many as 2,600 passengers who have returned from the UK and the Middle East have been contacted. Around 1,200 of them have undergone the RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test. Civic officials are closely monitoring each passenger and their close contacts. Special arrangements have been made for Covid-19 positive patients at Seven Hills Hospital, Marol.

“Many passengers aren’t coming forward to reveal their travel history or of their close contacts. So, we are trying to trace them with the help of local bodies. Thus, ward officers, hospitals and societies are being instructed to inform us if they know anyone who has returned from the UK and the Middle East, post-November 25,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, BMC.

Six of the 12 passengers who were found Covid-19 positive have tested negative, informed Kakani. He further said that the civic body will again conduct the RT-PCR test on all passengers later to check if they are still carrying the pathogen of the virus. In the meantime, the civic body has sent their reports to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for genome sequencing.

Dr Mangala Gomare, executive health officer, BMC, informed that the state government has provided them with the details of the passengers who have returned to Mumbai. Health officials are following up on their health through telephonic updates.

“All the infected passengers will be admitted at Seven Hills Hospital, where they will undergo the required treatment,” added Kakani.