By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is among the six airports in the country that will initiate thermal screening of passengers to detect the deadly Coronavirus that has already claimed one life in China and affected 41 others.

Additionally, health officials at the airport have been notified and sensitised to deal with these cases, if any pop up during thermal screening. The Health Ministry at the Centre released a list of actions taken by them to tackle and prevent an outbreak in Indian.

The release read, "MoHFW has written to Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to facilitate thermal screening at the international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi for the airlines to follow International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines for managing and notifying anybody reporting illness on flights originating from China and disembarking in India. MoCA has issued instructions for in-flight announcements on India-bound flights."

Additionally, airport health organisations at the airports of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata have put up signs at prominent locations asking public to report any such case. The hospitals attached to these airports have been reviewed for provision of isolation and critical care facilities.

Immigration officers manning the counters have been sensitised at these airports. Previously, the screening was not being conducted in Hyderabad as RGIA did not have any direct flights to and from China.

The new Coronavirus strain, first discovered in Wuhan, China, has been a cause for alarm because of its connection to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.