Health Ministry secretary reviews screening of evacuated Indian through video conferencing

Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Department Preeti Sudan on Saturday reviewed screening of Indians evacuated from Wuhan, the epicentre of novel coronavirus outbreak, through video conferencing on Saturday.

Apart from passengers arriving from China and Hong Kong, those coming in from Singapore and Thailand shall also be universally screened for the deadly virus, officials from the Department said.

An Air India's Boeing 747 Jumbo aircraft carrying 324 Indian nationals, including three minors and 211 students, from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, arrived here on Saturday morning.

According to the authorities, the passengers will be kept in isolation at the quarantine facilities for 14 days.

220 of the 324 Indians were sent to the Army quarantine facility at Manesar on Saturday, while the remaining 104 were shifted to Indo-Tibetan Border Police-managed Chhawla Camp in the national capital for medical observation, the Health Ministry said.

All the evacuees had gone through the necessary screening at the Indira Gandhi International Airport upon arrival.

The second Air India special flight also departed for Wuhan on Saturday afternoon for the evacuation of Indians, airline spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said.