Nagpur division has 9 flyers +ve in 10 days, 52 co-passengers quarantined

Nagpur: Nine domestic flyers who reached here in the last 17 days have tested Covid-19 positive in 10 days. Following this, their 52 co-passengers have been placed in institutional quarantine.
Between May 25 and June 10, 6,204 persons in 56 flights had landed in Nagpur of which 3,591 were from the city and remaining from parts of Vidarbha and MP.
Two air passengers from the district tested positive on Tuesday. A 34-year-old woman from Shivaji Nagar in the city had returned from New Delhi on June 2 along with a family member. As she had soar throat, body ache and fever, the woman got tested and the result came positive.
A Hingna man along with two family members had returned from Delhi on May 27. Zilla parishad authorities had taken their swab samples a couple of days ago as a proactive measure. His reports came positive, while wife tested negative.
A person from Dhantoli, who had returned from Mumbai on May 25, had also tested positive on June 5.
It has come to fore that six more flyers had tested positive of which three are from Chandrapur. Two of them had returned on May 25 and one on June 4. Two from Gadchiroli (returned on May 27) and one from Bhandara, who came back on June 1, have also tested positive.
Though not mandatory, a few districts are testing flyers on proactive basis resulting in the detection. Some cases were detected after the returnees having health issues were tested.
As per new protocol, administration in all six districts of Nagpur division are quarantining and testing co-passengers. After a flyer is tested positive, co-passengers in 30 seats situated in five rows, including the one occupied by the person himself and two each on front and rear, are being quarantined.
The person from Dhantoli was tested when Chandrapur administration alerted that the man had travelled in the flight in which another person had tested positive. Following Hingna case, Nagpur ZP had alerted Gadchiroli administration only to know that two passengers have tested positive and one is in quarantine.
Some tips for safe flying: Consultant physician and intensivist Dr Nikhil Balankhe told TOI, “Transmission of the disease is high during flight due to aerosol droplets. Thermal scanning won’t work if a person has consumed medicine or he/she is asymptomatic. Airlines should provide N-95 mask to all passengers before boarding and should not allow anyone to touch or remove it throughout the flight. Airlines should ensure disposal of masks after landing so as to prevent spread of infection, if any,” he said.
On mandatory swab test before boarding, Dr Balankhe said, “This will increase the cost of flying. Positivity rate is highest at 65% between 5th and 8th day of contracting the disease and hence it will not be effective always.”