Telangana man who tested positive for covid-19 went unchecked upon his arrival at Bengaluru airport

HYDERABAD: Despite heavy surveillance across airports, the person who tested positive for novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) on Monday went through undetected upon his arrival at Bengaluru from Dubai on February 20. This, as Dubai is not currently listed by the Union government among countries from where passengers aboard incoming flights are to be screened for the virus.
That many travel from Hyderabad to Dubai and back regularly, either for work or recreation, opens up the possibilty of more suspects. What is also a worry is that the software professional who tested positive in Hyderabad, while in transit from Dubai through Bengaluru, may have left a long trail of contacts at various locations. These include passengers in the flight, bus depots and halt points. This makes tracing suspects a difficult task and is likely to involve multiple governments and other agencies.

Presently, passengers aboard incoming flights from Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, Iran and Italy besides China and Hong Kong are slated for screening upon arrival. “Dubai is currently not on the list as per the central notification. Now, with this case, it is likely to be added,” said state health minister Eatala Rajender.
At the Hyderabad airport, as on February 29, around 17,000 passengers have undergone thermal screening. However, those in the incubation period who do not show symptoms of the virus may go undetected during the screening procedure. Due to this, a massive up-scaling of screening is required according to health department officials. “Dubai is a favoured destination for people in the city, which means that the surveillance will have to be increased with a positive case being traced back with travel history to Dubai,” said a senior health department official.