Evacuees to be put up at Manesar, Delhi

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 31

Hours after WHO declared novel coronavirus (n-CoV) outbreak of China a public health emergency of international concern, Air India’s Boeing 747 took off from New Delhi to ferry 324 Indian nationals back from China’s Wuhan.

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The plane, stored with protective gear, medicines and food for passengers and crew, has on board five doctors.

The aircraft took off from the Wuhan airport, the epicentre of the outbreak, for Delhi in early hours of Saturday.

Crew members are donning protective outfit, including gloves, head gear and masks. Quarantine facilities have been set up by the Army at Haryana’s Manesar and Delhi’s Chawla Camp area for the 324 returnees.

The government said the incoming Indian passengers would be quarantined for 14 days at a quarantine centre at Manesar (managed by Armed Forces Medical Services) and at Chawla Camp (managed by Indo-Tibetan Border Police). Nearly 280 male passengers will be sent to the Manesar camp and female passengers and their families – around 90 – will be housed at the ITBP camp.

Health Ministry sources said the Manesar facility could house 300 people and ITBP facility around 600 people. “Passengers will be screened upon arrival and those with infection will be isolated at Base Hospital of Delhi Cantonment for further investigation and management. In that case, it will be also assessed if further quarantine of the contacts is required,” officials said.

The government has named Rajiv Garg, Director, General Health Services, the nodal officer for arrangements at the ITBP facility. Medical teams for Manesar will be provided by Armed Forces Medical Services.

“In addition to the two facilities, a 50-bedded critical care facility has been set up at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi for critical care of patients should the need arise,” the Health Ministry said.

A nodal officer each from the Ministries of Home, Defence and External Affairs will work closely on the project.

Screening at the New Delhi airport will be done by a joint team of doctors from the AFMS and Airport Health Authority.

The government will categorise the returnees in three parts – suspect cases (individuals with signs of fever, cold, cough to be transferred to Delhi Cantonment Base Hospital); close contact (individuals without symptoms but with history of visiting a seafood or animal market in Wuhan and history of contact over 14 days with a Chinese with symptoms to be quarantined at Manesar); non-contact cases (individuals without symptoms to be quarantined for 14 days for abundant caution).

Meanwhile, the death toll from the disease has reached 213 in China.

6th emergency in 11 yrs

The past five public health emergencies of international concern declared have been 2009 H1N1; 2014 polio; 2014 Ebola in West Africa; 2016 Zika; 2019 Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The past five public health emergencies of international concern declared have been 2009 H1N1; 2014 polio; 2014 Ebola in West Africa; 2016 Zika; 2019 Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo