IndiGo grounds crew for 14 days after passenger on Chennai-Coimbatore flight tests Covid-19 positive
This is the first case of a passenger testing positive after domestic flight services resumed on Monday.
IndiGo on Tuesday grounded the crew of a Chennai-Coimbatore flight after a passenger tested positive for the coronavirus, reported The Indian Express. “The operating crew has been grounded for 14 days and we are in the process of notifying other passengers as per the government guidelines, to ensure safety of our passengers and staff,” the airline said in a statement.
The 24-year-old passenger tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival at Coimbatore on Monday evening. Health officials said he was asymptomatic before boarding. He has been sent on quarantine at ESI state medical facility in Coimbatore. This is the first case of a passenger testing positive after domestic flight services resumed on Monday, reported Hindustan Times.
“The passenger was seated on-board the aircraft with all precautionary measures including face mask, face shield and gloves, as were the other passengers. Additionally, no one else was seated in his vicinity, significantly reducing the possibility of transmission,” the airline added.
Meanwhile, all passengers on board a flight from Delhi to Ludhiana on Monday were put under home quarantine ,after a 50-year-old employee tested positive, NDTV reported on Wednesday.
The man is a resident of Delhi and works in the security department of Alliance Air. He was travelling on his own ticket and not on duty. He was sent to a local isolation centre.
A total of 116 samples were taken on Monday when domestic flights resumed operations. The test reports of 114 people were received, of which one was found positive, Ludhiana civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga told channel.
On Monday, around 500 flights operated across the country after a gap of two months following a countrywide lockdown announced on March 24. The Centre allowed the states to formulate their own standard operating procedures.
Most states have allowed a 14-day home quarantine for asymptomatic passengers. Andhra Pradesh, however, mandated a seven-day institutional quarantine for people arriving from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Karnataka government had also said that it would keep passengers coming from these states in institutional quarantine for seven days.
The number of coronavirus cases in India reached 1,45,380 on Tuesday as 6,535 more people tested positive. The toll rose to 4,167 with 146 new deaths. India is now among the 10 countries with the most number of coronavirus cases.
