COVID-19: Passengers from Italy, Iran too will be screened, says DGCA

Passengers from 10 countries are already being screened at Indian airports.

File photo: A thermal screening device checks passengers arriving in India from China in view of the coronavirus (CoV) outbreak, at Delhi International airport.

Aviation regulator DGCA said on Monday that all passengers coming from Italy and Iran would undergo thermal screening for novel coronavirus, hours after the government announced two fresh positive cases with one having a recent travel history of the European country.

Passengers from 10 countries— China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia— are already being screened at Indian airports.

The DGCA stated in a circular on Monday, “In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus 2019) disease

in India , it has been decided to expand the universal screening of all passengers arriving in flights from Italy and Iran.”

Two fresh cases of the novel coronavirus— one in Delhi and another in Telangana— were reported in India, taking the number of people who have tested positive for the respiratory virus in the country to five so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

The infected person from Delhi had recently travelled to Italy, while the other patient from Telangana had travelled to Dubai, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said, adding that the government has stepped up vigil and efforts to detect and prevent the spread of the deadly virus that has killed 2,912 people in China.

It has spread to at least 58 countries, according to a WHO situation report.

Iran has reported 978 confirmed cases of the new virus with 54 deaths from the illness it causes, called COVID-19.