As coronavirus scare looms across the world with at least 29 people infected with the novel Covid-19 in India, airports in the country are all set for a mammoth screening exercise. In the past two days there has been a sharp rise of infections in India, from six on Tuesday to 29 on Wednesday. Of them, three from Kerala have recovered.
The government announced on Wednesday that all international passengers entering India will be screened at airports for the novel coronavirus outbreak (Covid-19). The decision implies that passengers entering the country via seaports will also be screened.
India has screened 589,000 passengers across 21 airports, and 15,000 passengers at 12 major and 65 minor seaports. At least one million people have been tested in five states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim — that have borders with Nepal. As many as 27,000 passengers are under community surveillance at present after the screening process at these entry points.