Nineteen passengers travelling from India to Wuhan on an Air India flight, on Friday, 30 October, tested positive on arrival at Wuhan, reported TOI. In addition, 40 passengers were reported to have COVID-19 antibodies.
A total of 277 passengers took that flight, according to TOI.
What Is Air India Saying?
According to TOI, an Air India spokesperson said:
“All our passengers to Wuhan had boarded the flight from Delhi with COVID negative reports from certified labs. AI strictly adheres to all the safety protocol laid down by regulatory bodies and conforms to requirements at destination airports. There is no question of passengers boarding any of our flights without valid COVID negative reports.”
More Details
Air India has so far operated six flights to China during the pandemic. The first-two were on 31 January and 1 February. Whether this incident will have any impact on the other flights Air India plans to operate to China under the Vande Bharat Mission is unclear.
China’s special administrative region of Hong Kong suspends any airline for 14 days if five or more passengers of any one flight test positive for the arrival, reported TOI.
Officials have also informed that those who tested positive have been hospitalised in Wuhan.
Incidentally, Wuhan has been reported as “the origin city of the COVID-19 pandemic”, according to TOI.
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