At least 15 domestic flight passengers who arrived in Tamil Nadu from other states tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday.
On May 28, a passenger who flew into Madurai from Bengaluru in an IndiGo flight 6E 7214 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. The asymptomatic passenger who arrived in Madurai on May 27 was confirmed positive the next day, when the test results arrived from the mandatory airport screening at Madurai airport. He is currently being quarantined.
Speaking to TNM, Madurai Collector TG Vinay says, “In Madurai, the moment the passengers land, we test them. We are in the process of cross-notifying all other district passengers who came in the said flight. We follow the comprehensive testing guideline issued by the state government in which they have clearly said any person coming from other states has to be tested. For hotspot states like Maharashtra and Gujarat we quarantine the passenger for seven days even if they test negative.”
“Since in this case, passengers have come from non-hotspot state of Karnataka, we have notified all passengers who have arrived in this flight to Madurai and all those who have tested negative, we are monitoring them under home quarantine,” he added.
On May 27, a total of eight persons who travelled to Coimbatore from Delhi and Bengaluru in IndiGo flights also tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection. Six passengers on board IndiGo flight 6E 6992 from Bengaluru to Coimbatore and two passengers on board IndiGo flight 6E 908 from Delhi to Coimbatore were found to be positive. The operating crew of all these flights have been quarantined for 14 days.
“The passengers observed all precautionary measures including a face mask, face shield, and gloves, like other passengers on-board the aircraft. All our aircraft are regularly sanitised as a standard operating procedure and the aircraft operating these flights were immediately disinfected as per protocol. The operating crew has been home quarantined for 14 days and we are in the process of notifying other passengers as per the government guidelines, to ensure the safety of our passengers and staff,” IndiGo said in its statement.
According to reports, six persons who flew to Salem from Chennai on a TruJet flight on Wednesday have tested positive. This included a doctor from Stanley Medical College Hospital from Chennai. About 56 passengers had traveled on TruJet, a Hyderabad-based private regional airline, to Salem, all of whom have been quarantined as a precaution.
On Tuesday, IndiGo had said that a passenger who travelled on flight 6E 381 from Chennai to Coimbatore on Monday evening tested positive for the disease.
Domestic flight services resumed in the country on Monday, May 25.