india

Updated: Feb 05, 2020 06:07 IST

One of the five doctors who were on the Air India flights that evacuated 647 Indians from China on January 31 and February 1 has developed a cough, a key sign of infection from the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that three students in Kerala have been detected with.

The three people who tested positive for 2019-nCoV got infected in China and were not among the evacuees.

All the passengers and the 60-member evacuation team , which included 10 doctors from Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, on the Air India flight are being quarantined for at least 14 days as a precautionary and safety measure to check the spread of viral infection.The crew included 10 RML doctors, two paramedics, 40 cabin and cockpit crew, engineers and security personnel in two different planes that evacuated people from China.

Officials in the Union ministry of health said it was unlikely that the doctor had contracted infection.

“The whole team involved in the process is under mandatory home quarantine for at least two weeks. The doctor in question was a little under the weather even before he went on the trip. The team had taken strict precautions during the trip so it’s unlikely that it’s a coronavirus infection but we are leaving nothing to chance,” said a senior health ministry official, requesting anonymity.

The infection has killed 425 people, all in China, except one each in Philippines and Hong Kong, and at least 20,000 people have been infected in China alone.

On Tuesday, India established dedicated gates and separate aerobridges for passengers from high-risk locations such as China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. “…Earmarked aerobridges will be used at seven international airports (Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Cochin, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai) at the dedicated gates to screen passengers from the affected countries… so as to ensure effective prevention,” said Preeti Sudan, secretary (health), in a statement.

Since January 17, 2020, 777 flights and 89,500 passengers have been screened for symptoms at airports, with screening also being done at seaports and busy international borders.

India has tested 454 samples, of which three have tested positive. An additional 3,935 asymptomatic passengers and their contacts in 29 states are under home isolation and being tracked to see if they develop symptoms. Of all the samples tested, 160 samples are from the evacuees who have been quarantined at two isolation facilities in Manesar and Chhawla, confirmed Indian Council of Medical Research.

“Various precautionary measures are being taken in close coordination with the ministries concerned at the central level. The situation is being closely and regularly monitored by the PMO {Prime Minister’s Office} , health minister, and Cabinet secretary on a daily basis regarding the updates, status of preparedness and action taken so far,” said Sudan, chairing a review meeting on the coronavirus on Tuesday.