Representational Image
19 passengers from India tested positive on arrival at Wuhan, China
New Delhi: A total of 19 passengers travelling from India to Wuhan, tested positive for COVID-19 on their arrival at Wuhan. Around 277 passengers took the Air India flight to Wuhan on October 30. 40 out of the 277 passengers were reported to have COVID-19 antibodies.
An Air India spokesperson said on the incident:
"All our passengers to Wuhan had boarded the flight from Delhi with COVID negative reports from certified labs. Air India strictly adheres to all the safety protocol laid down by regulatory bodies and conforms to requirements at destination airports. There is no question of passengers boarding any of our flights without valid COVID negative reports."
The 19 passengers are now admitted to the hospitals in Wuhan.
During the pandemic, Air India has operated six flights to China. The first two flights were on January 31 and February 1, when the number of COVID cases in the country were less.
China's special administrative region of Hong Kong suspends any airline for 14 days if five or more passengers of the flight test positive for the virus on arrival.
However, it is still unclear if Air India will operate flights to China under the Vande Bharat Mission after this incident.