Travellers from China to undergo thermal screening for pneumonia at Mumbai airport

Air travellers arriving from China at the city airport will be subjected to undergo thermal screening as a preventive measure following the recent outbreak of Pneumonia caused by the 'Novel Coronavirus' in the Wuhan city of Hubei province of the East-Asian country, Mumbai airport authorities said on Saturday.

Chinese carrier Air China and African airline Rwand Air currently fly to Mumbai.

The Airport Health Organisation (APHO) team in Mumbai has activated a health counter and thermal scanners at the pre-immigration area for the arriving passengers, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said in a release.

"All passengers travelling from China to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), will have to undergo a thermal screening as a matter of precaution," MIAL said.

MIAL said it has now expanded its existing passenger safety measures in compliance with the latest directive given by the World Health Organization (WHO) in case if any traveller is detected with the symptom.

The concerned passenger will be immediately shifted to the isolation hospital earmarked for CSMIA on advice of the APHO team, the aerodrome operator said, adding it will share a daily report with the ministry on the scanning of passengers.

"As reported by the Chinese authorities, this is a new type of coronavirus and is different from all other human coronaviruses. The World Health Organization has reported symptoms such as fever, difficulty in breathing and chest radiographs showing bilateral lung infiltrates as the cause of the pneumonia," MIAL said in the release