4 Germany returned passengers with 'home quarantine' stamp

Four Germany-returned passengers with 'home quarantine' stamp on hands for suspected exposure to coronavirus were on Wednesday de-boarded from the Bandra Terminus-Delhi Garib Rath Express train at Palghar station, around 100 kms from Mumbai, after co-passengers raised an alarm, a Western Railway (WR) official said.

The four passengers, who had arrived in Mumbai, were going to Surat when the incident occurred around 2 pm, the official said.

Due to the incident, the train was held up for around 10 minutes at Palghar station, where it took an unscheduled halt to de-board the passengers, he said.

"Four passengers were de-boarded from coach number G4 and G5 of 12216 Garib Rath at Palghar station when travel ticket examiner and co-passengers raised an alarm after seeing the 'home quarantine' stamp on their hands," a WR spokesperson said.

"They had arrived from Germany and were going to Surat," the official said.

The four passengers had been screened at the Mumbai international airport, where they were found negative for coronavirus, the official said.

However, they were advised 14 days of home quarantine, as mentioned in the stamp on their hands, the official said.

After being de-boarded, they were taken to a government hospital in Palghar, he said.

"The doctor and the local authorities checked them and later allowed them to go ahead by road," he added.

The Garib Rath Express does not have a halt at Palghar, but as the passengers raised an alarm after seeing the stamp on the four passengers' hands, the train was given an unscheduled halt there, they said.

On Tuesday night, two foreigners travelling to Mumbai in Mandovi Express were de-boarded at Dadar railway station after they were spotted travelling in the train, sources in Central (CR) said.

The foreign nationals, who had arrived in Mumbai on March 12, were sent to the Seven Hills Hospital to get themselves checked at its quarantine facility, they added.

A CR official said that some members of the Konkan Railway staff had alerted their colleagues in Mumbai about the foreign nationals travelling in the train.

As per the Maharashtra government's decision, people undergoing home quarantine for suspected exposure to the novel coronavirus are being stamped on the left hand.

As per protocol, people arriving from coronavirus- affected regions are being put under home quarantine as a precautionary measure while their samples are sent for tests.