Pune: Railways gets ready to counter spread of virus

PUNE: After the airports authorities, the railways is now gearing up to counter the spread of Coronavirus.
The Railway Board has instructed all principal chief medical directors of different zones to ensure adequate preparations at the stations and hospitals in terms of creating separate isolation wards and making the passengers aware about the disease.
"All the railway zones and divisions have been told to spread the word on Coronavirus, like how it spreads and measures to avoid it. The messages should be clear and in languages that people understand. The railway hospitals have been told to make preparations and ensure that they have the isolation wards ready," a Central Railway official said.
"Protective gears should be readily available. People with fever should be separated from other patients in the hospitals," the Railway Board letter read.
Airport authorities have already stepped up measures to check the spread of the disease. Fyers arriving even indirectly from Italy and Iran will now be screened for Covid-19 at Indian airports. Those coming directly from the two countries and from airports in East Asia are already being screened for the new coronavirus. The DGCA in its latest circular has extended the ambit of medical screening to passengers arriving from Italy and Iran via transit hubs, mainly Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi.
On Wednesday, Pune airport authorities said all flyers reaching the city from Dubai in two flights (SpiceJet and Air India Express) would have to fill a self declaration form for universal health screenings. An official at the airport said the forms would be available for passengers on the flights and they have to fill and submit them to the immigration officer after the flights land in Pune. "The airport is ready for the health screenings of all passengers coming from Dubai," Pune airport director Kuldeep Singh told TOI.
In a report on Tuesday, TOI had raised concerns that exempting passengers from Iran and Italy who fly into India after transit halts, mainly in West Asia, could pose problems as transit airports are points where hundreds of passengers, including those from some of the worst-affected Covid-19 countries, mingle for hours before boarding their onward connections.
Also, a large number of India-bound passengers from the US, Europe and Africa land in West Asian airports first. For instance, India has been the number one international tourist source market for Dubai for a few years now.