KIA begins screening all incoming foreign passengers

In the wake of the Centre’s directive to screen every incoming foreign traveller, as many as 2,076 passengers were subjected to thermal screening for Novel Coronavirus at the Kempegowda International Airport from 8 am on Tuesday to 8 am on Wednesday.

So far, 42,283 incoming international passengers have been screened since January 20. The number is expected to mount as the screening process has expanded to cover all foreign arrivals, far beyond the 12 countries identified earlier.

KIA has been on high alert ever since February 21, when the techie who landed in the city from Dubai two days earlier tested positive for the dreaded virus.

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Immigration had mandated that all foreign and Indian nationals entering the country had to self-declare their travel history and furnish their contact details.

On its part, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed airlines to disinfect their aircraft on arrival from a virus-affected zone. This process should be repeated after every arrival and before letting in passengers for the next flight. Besides, cabin crew and operational staff have to wear protective gear.

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Now intensified at KIA, the thermal screening process is a standard practice to detect radiation. If the body temperature is high due to fever, the radiation emitted by the person also rises accordingly. Such passengers are then referred for coronavirus tests.

Arriving passengers are being asked to fill out a self-reporting form, seeking to know whether they were suffering from fever, cough or respiratory distress.

However, there were also passengers who said they were not screened on Monday. One of them, Nitin Manga took to Twitter to express his disbelief: “India is incredible, if threat of coronavirus is neglected as of now, so will be the damage.”