Recently-arrived UK passengers being traced, tested; quarantine facility at LNJP

New Delhi, December 23: The Delhi Government on Tuesday said people who have arrived here from the UK recently are being traced and tested, while an institutional quarantine facility is being set up for positive cases at the LNJP Hospital amid mounting concern over a new strain of the virus detected in that country. All passengers arriving from the UK are being tested for COVID-19 at the Delhi airport.Sources said an institutional quarantine facility is being created at the LNJP Hospital in an isolated area away from the main COVID wards, for UK passengers testing positive at the airport. The Delhi Government is on alert in the wake of a mutated corona virus strain detected in the UK. The situation is being closely monitored and mandatory tests are being conducted at the Delhi airport for all passengers arriving from that country. The Civil Aviation Ministry on Monday said all flights from the UK to India and vice versa will remain suspended from Wednesday to December 31 in view of the emergence of a mutated variant of corona virus there. Six passengers travelling on Air India’s London-Delhi flight tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival, a senior government official earlier said on Tuesday. The flight landed around 11.30 pm on Monday. A senior official said in the South-West district about 85 people are there who have returned from the UK since December 7 and they have been contacted and put under observation The Government has also designated a five-star hotel in Aerocity area as a paid quarantine facility for the passengers arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport from the UK, he said. People travelling on international flights are required to carry a test report with them. Jain has also appealed to those who have recently come from the UK to monitor their health and go for tests at the slightest of COVID-like symptoms and inform the government. Asked about the threat of the new virus strain entering Delhi, The Health Minister said, “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had appealed to the Centre to close flights from the UK and it had been done. So, we are doing everything possible to contain the spread”.

By: R News India 24