With the confusion being spread during the screening process, it is evident that there is no Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place. (Photo: Twitter/TanjavooruT)

While India is boasting of imposing travel restrictions and mass screening of passengers to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the ground reality at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport is dismal, to say the least when it comes to screening passengers arriving from notified countries.

With the confusion being spread during the screening process, it is evident that there is no Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place.

Many who have gone through the screening process at IGI would vouch that there is an acute manpower shortage to handle the huge number of passengers that arrive and have to be screened.

The acute shortage of manpower means that the doctors have to screen and handle the passengers by themselves -- something which they find hard to manage and are not trained to do.

Sunita (name changed) told India Today TV, "This is just like a social gathering! There are so many passengers at the screening counters just rubbing shoulders with each other trying to get out of the place at the earliest. The government has been asking people to avoid big gatherings. But that's exactly what is happening here. So, what's the point of the screening? I guess many will contract the virus here."

This was the situation hours back. My mom is 50 plus, thyroid patient. This is not done. No management, no planning , not letting them use washrooms, not giving any food. How is this humane? @MoHFW_INDIA @MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/ZN4OtE3Mpa Nupur Sharma (@Nupur_Sharma91) March 16, 2020

Nishita (name changed), an MBA student in Paris returning to New Delhi was frustrated by her experience at the IGI screening counter. She had a connecting flight to Mumbai and unfortunately, her mobile battery had run out. Her parents were worried about her. But she couldn't afford to leave the long queue. "I had a connecting flight to Mumbai. I was getting late and the queue was so long. Doctors said they aren't responsible as their duty is to check and they cannot divert manpower for a few people who have transit flights. My mobile wasn't working so I had to request many in the queue to lend me the phone so that I could tell my parents that I was ok and ask them to book another flight for me," she said.

Venkat, returning from Paris had a connecting flight to Bengaluru. "They first checked me and saw my declaration form but didn't say anything at the medical counter. Then they asked us to wait along with others. And then later all of us again had to be in a queue to get the self-declaration form signed. All this while I kept asking them what sense does it make to make passengers do the same process twice but the doctor threatened me and said that he would call the CISF guy," he shared.

Radhika, another lady who returned from Paris said, "I knew there would be chaos so I left the line and told them that my mother is sick and I have come on emergency leave. So, they quickly put me in front of the machine and wrote 'home isolation' on my declaration form and so I left."

Raghav (name changed) who returned along with his group of friends said, "The doctor at the counter said that only people from Delhi will be put in quarantine as there aren't enough beds in Delhi to accommodate others. The ones who had transit flights will be seen at the end destination. So, we left for Mumbai. We stood in front of the machine as well so I presume we are healthy."

Another group said, "When we started making noise and said that we have stood in front of the machine once and are getting late, another man, presumably a doctor, came and stamped our declaration forms. We weren't told anything and so we just hope that we are fine. We have, however, decided to stay at home for 14 days as a precautionary measure."

The medical fraternity on it part doesn't approve of the way screenings are being conducted at the airports. Many say that even a layman can understand that things aren't happening in a correct manner.

Talking to India Today TV, Dr Amol Tayade of Sion Hospital says, "Airports are naturally a hub of pathogens amalgamating from various parts of the country and the world. Covid-19 is a novel virus, we aren't certain about its epidemiology to the fullest; hence, it would be better to have a setup where the accumulation and subsequent spread of pathogens is prevented. It would lead to less false suspicion and diagnosis, and better use of limited medical resources."

When asked if the young doctors deployed were equipped adequately for the task at hand, he said, "I think doctors are clinically equipped given the rigorous training they receive for combating viral infections in the long course of studies, but I am not certain if they are equipped with the right protective gearthe simplest example would be an N-95 mask which is not readily available to doctors for their own protection. Also, given the number of suspected cases a doctor sees in a day, it should also be thought of giving them ample time to rest and replenish their own immunity."

@MoCA_GoI

Passengers of AI 142 from Paris to New Delhi

and other flights are stranded in New Delhi airport and are not taken yet to next stage (release or quarantine) without any Food for 9 hours. Most of the them are ready for self-quarantine, but they can't be without food. pic.twitter.com/kPzWz3ShNZ Nagarajan K S (@ksnagarajan) March 16, 2020

Delhi Airport officials on condition of anonymity told India Today TV that the airport authorities weren't responsible if things were not being conducted appropriately.

"The screening of the passengers coming especially from notified countries is not the responsibility of the airport. It is done by the Airport Health Organisation (APHO) under the Ministry of Health and Welfare. So, they are the people carrying out all the business of screening the passengers. If they find anyone with symptoms then they take a call accordingly," the officials said.

Another airport official not wanting to be named added, "Our airport has no role in this. On our part, for all the flights coming from notified countries we have given a dedicated gate. In fact, there is a separate corridor altogether. There is a separate baggage belt facility. There are separate immigration facilities as well. Other than that, it is the call of the health officials to see the number of helping hands they need and the screening infrastructure in place."

Problems escalated for many at the immigration counters as well. First and foremost, there was no information about which immigration counter they were supposed to approach after the medical screening. A self-declaration form has to be stamped at the medical counter to get clearance from immigration.

Only after standing in the queue for at least 15 minutes where passengers informed that for the notified countries they had to approach different counters. Now, these counters were meant for passengers arriving from 18 countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, Taiwan, Macau, Germany, France, Spain and USA.

"My passport had to be entered into the system manually. To my surprise, the immigration officer at the counter was sleeping. I had to yell at him three times to wake him up. I had a connecting flight to Mumbai so I needed to hurry up. But I never expected the official would be sleeping at the counter," said Shreya (name changed).