Passengers from UK who arrived over past month to be tested again, says Delhi govt

The Delhi government Wednesday decided to test for Covid all passengers who reached Delhi from the UK between November 25 and December 23, even if they were tested earlier. Directives have been issued to all the districts in this regard.

“All passengers who are Delhi residents are to be compulsory tested by RT-PCR irrespective of earlier testing done. Further, the district surveillance officer will advise RT-PCR negative persons to self-monitor their health for 28 days and again get tested by RT-PCR in case they develop any symptoms. For all positive patients detected among UK returned passengers, a detailed history will be taken by the DSO for epidemiological linkages and other necessary aspects,” state the minutes of the meeting.

The state health department has identified Lok Nayak as the facility for admitting Covid positive patients who have arrived from the UK. Passengers who had tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday have also been shifted to Lok Nayak hospital.

The contacts of the patients who have tested positive will be institutionally quarantined in the Terapanth Covid Care Centre.

Asked about the threat of the new Covid-19 strain and the Delhi government’s preparedness to combat it, Jain said, “Only ICMR and scientists can give us insight into this new strain. They say it’s more contagious and some scientists conjecture the coronavirus strain in circulation in India may have already reached the new mutative state.”