BENGALURU: With flights from the UK resuming, more than 300 passengers are expected to land at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) early on Sunday. This will be the first batch of flyers from Britain in Bengaluru after the recent travel curbs.
The central and state governments have issued a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for such passengers following the discovery of the new coronavirus variant in the UK, where cases have soared. It is now mandatory for everyone flying in from the UK to undergo an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 at the airport. Even passengers with Covid negative certificates will have to take a fresh test on arrival.
The returnees must stay at the airport till their test reports arrive. “There is a Covid testing lab inside the airport and results will be given in five to six hours,” said Dr Manjula Devi, district health officer, Bengaluru Rural, under whose jurisdiction the international airport falls. During the waiting period, they can move around the airport, but only within a restricted area.
A private company known for its rapid RT-PCR kits had approached the state government, offering Covid-19 tests that could produce faster results. The government is yet to consider the proposal. “The rapid RT-PCR costs Rs 4,500 and gives a report within 15 minutes. There is a proposal before the government to buy these kits, but no decision has been taken so far,” said health minister K Sudhakar.
On Saturday, Sudhakar visited the airport to inspect the arrangements made for passengers travelling from the UK. Even if a passenger tests negative, they will have to undergo 14 days of mandatory home quarantine. The state health department’s surveillance wing will monitor their condition.
If a passenger tests positive on arrival, they will be placed in institutional isolation and then moved to a government-run Covid-19 hospital. The patient’s swab sample will be sent to Nimhans for genomic sequencing, which will help ascertain if the person is infected with the new coronavirus variant or other known versions. The new variant has caused global concerns because it is highly infectious.
According to the SOP, the positive person’s co-passengers seated in the same row, three rows in the front and three rows behind will be shifted to institutional quarantine for seven days. The rule also applies to the cabin crew. High-risk primary contacts will undergo tests.
An official said that multiple announcements on the SOP would be made during the flight to help passengers mentally prepare themselves. “If they are not prepared, they may get annoyed or refuse to get tested, as it happened in Delhi,” the official said.
The new variant was recognised in the UK in September, but was confirmed through genomic sequencing only on December 12-14. India suspended all UK flights from December 23 till January 7. Many countries have since then reported cases of the variant.