Amid fear of new COVID-19 strain, 361 passengers from Int'l flights quarantined in Mumbai

Amid fears over a new strain of Coronavirus detected in India, a civic official on Tuesday said that 664 passengers arrived at the Mumbai International Airport out of which 361 of them were quarantined in the city. The official added that a total of nine international flights landed in the city during the day.

"As many as 664 passengers arrived at the Mumbai International Airport out of which 361 of them were quarantined in the city. A total of nine international flights landed in the city during the day", a civic official said.

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Elderly passengers and pregnant women were exempted from the compulsory quarantine rule, while the 254 passengers who tested COVID-19 negative were allowed to travel to other states. 

Amendment in COVID Standard Operating Protocol

After a new variant of Coronavirus was found in the UK, the earlier Standard Operating Protocol about institutional quarantine of passengers arriving from European countries and the Middle East were amended by the civic body on Sunday. 

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According to the amended rule, the passengers travelling from the above countries will have to stay in institutional quarantine facility for seven days and another seven days in-home quarantine. Earlier institutional quarantine for 14-days was mandatory. 

On Tuesday, the Health Ministry confirmed that six cases of the mutated COVID-19 strain that was first detected in the UK have also been found among returnees from the country to India. The six infected persons are among 33,000 returnees from the UK since November 25 and have been isolated and contact-traced.

However, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the States and UTs to keep a strict vigilance especially to prevent any rise in cases during the New Year celebrations. Also issued fresh guidelines for surveillance with regard to COVID-19 that will remain in action till January 31, 2021.

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