Nagpur: With Sharjah flights set to resume once-a-week from Sunday, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has announced that all international passengers arriving in Nagpur will be in institutional quarantine for seven days. The civic body has also announced intensive testing in nine localities.
As of now airport authorities have announced a schedule only for three weeks (February 14, 21 and 28). The flight lands at 3.45am.
NMC additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Nipane said that passengers can choose to stay in private hotels and pay themselves. “Stay at the VNIT quarantine centre will be free of cost. An RT-PCR test will be conducted on the fifth day. If negative, the passengers will be discharged after seven days. Those who test positive will be admitted in GMCH’s special ward,” he said.
NMC sources said swab samples of flyers testing positive will be sent for genome sequencing too.
Five types of flyers are exempted from institutional quarantine: Above 65 year-old people who need support of others, pregnant women, parents of children below 5 years, persons with disabilities, severe comorbidities and needing treatment, and those arriving to attend funerals.
Khamla, Wathoda, Dighori, Swawlambi Nagar, Jaitala, Jaripatka, Jafar Nagar, New Bidipeth and Ayodhya Nagar are the nine localities where NMC will carry out enhanced testing drives. Municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B met representatives of traders and hotels association, and directed them to test employees once a month and also to submit work plan within 10 days.
The civic chief asked NMC officials to take on-the-spot action on violators especially shopkeepers not following guidelines. “All residents of housing societies or flat schemes will have to undergo a test if anyone is positive. People should test if they come in contact with positive patients irrespective of not having symptoms. Testing of people selling vegetables, fruits, dairy products and those involved in construction will be done time to time,” said Radhakrishnan.
At a press conference, collector Ravindra Thakre said that cases have increased “as people are ignoring guidelines”. “Strict monitoring will be done in rural areas so that cases do not rise. Sero surveillance will be launched soon,” he added.
Thakre admitted that the administration is also responsible as it discontinued monitoring and taking action after cases declined. “Test positivity rate has increased in five of 13 tehsils so all types of measures will be launched here,” he said.
Thakre ruled out any plans of lockdown or restriction on activities allowed in the district. “The need is for everyone to follow guidelines,” he said.