The Union Health Ministry on Saturday issued standar operating procedure for Epidemiological Surveillance & Response for new variant of COVID-19 in context of regulated resumption of limited flights originating from United Kingdom to India from Jan 8. The SOP stated that 'passengers testing positive shall be isolated at institutional facilities'.
Check out the SOP's below:
- All passengers coming from the UK between January 8 and January 30 would be subjected to self-paid COVID-19 tests on arrival.
- Each passenger arriving from the UK would have to bring his or her COVID-19 negative report from a test done 72 hours prior to the journey.
- Airlines to ensure the availability of negative test report before allowing the passenger to board the flight.
- Passengers testing positive shall be isolated in an institutional isolation facility in a separate (isolation) unit coordinated by the respective state health authorities.
- If the genomic sequencing indicates the presence of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the patient will continue to remain in a separate isolation unit.
- Patient will be tested on the 14th day after having tested positive and he or she will be kept in the isolation facility till his or her sample has tested negative.
- If a passenger tests COVID-positive on arrival, passengers seated in the same row, three rows in front and three rows behind would also be subjected to institutional quarantine in separate quarantine centers.
- The passengers who are found COVID-negative after the tests conducted at the airport would be advised home quarantine for 14 days and the concerned state or district administration should regularly follow up with them.
- States/UTs government concerned are requested to set up help desks at airports concerned to facilitate implementation of the SOP.
The presence of the new UK variant of the virus has already been reported by Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.