Chennai airport lab to test international air passengers for Covid-19 from next week

CHENNAI: International passengers arriving in Chennai will be screened for Covid-19 at a Chennai airport lab that will start functioning from next week, according to a Chennai Airport official.

The lab has been set up by the Indian Council of Medical Research, the state government and a private entity. The RT-PCR test results will be known within five to six hours, the official told The New Indian Express.

This will be a big boost for the screening procedure at Chennai airport just days after the discovery of the new Covid-19 strain in Britain. This also comes at a time when the Chennai Airport is gearing up to receive more international passengers in the coming days.

Meanwhile, British Airways which has been operating flights from London to Chennai and Chennai to London have cancelled their flights to the city. The last flights - both arrival and departure - happened on Monday morning, said a spokesman. 

It is also learnt that the state government has asked airport authorities to track transit international passengers. They too will have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR tests.

Domestic passengers will continue to undergo only thermal screening, the spokesman said. 

Importantly, there has also been no change in the tests being carried out at the Chennai Port. Officials at the Chennai Port said that they did not get any advisory pertaining to vessels from Britain following the new strain of Covid-19 virus discovered there.

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