New Delhi: Amid the scare caused by the outbreak of Coronavirus in China, Air flight's jumbo B747 plane carrying 324 Indians took off from Wuhan on Saturday (February 1) morning and landed in Delhi at around 7:30 am. According to PTI, there were five doctors from Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital and one paramedical staff on board, said an Air India spokesperson.
According to news agency ANI, the Indian nationals returning back from India will be kept at specially created quarantine centres for two weeks, as a precautionary measure. The Union Health Ministry informed that the government has made adequate quarantine centres at Manesar and Chawal camp.
"The national carrier once again comes to the rescue - this time to evacuate Indians from Wuhan, the site of the outbreak of coronavirus. This mission begins today with a Jumbo 747 operating between Delhi and Wuhan," AAir India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohan had said in a tweet on January 31.
Sanjeeva Kumar, Special Secretary at the health ministry said that a team of doctors, public health specialists have been sent in the aircraft of Air India. "The incoming Indian passengers will be quarantined for 14 days at the two Quarantine Centres set-up at Manesar (managed by Armed Forces Medical Services) and Chawla Camp (managed by ITBP). About 80 male passengers are proposed to be sent to Manesar Camp and families/females (approximately 90) can be housed in the ITBP camp."
In addition, a 50-bedded critical care facility has been set-up at Safdurjung Hospital in Delhi for the critical care of the patients. All persons admitted to both the quarantine facilities will be monitored on a daily basis for a period of 14 days.
A nodal officer will be deputed from each Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs for effective coordination.
The flight had departed from Delhi airport at 1.17 pm on January 31 to evacuate Indian nationals from China, where more than 250 people - none of them Indian - have died due to novel coronavirus. On Friday evening, the Air India spokesperson had stated that another special flight may take off from Delhi airport on Saturday to evacuate Indians from Wuhan.
The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in China has risen to 259 with total confirmed cases surging to 11,791 amid stepped up efforts by a number of countries to evacuate their nationals from Hubei province, the epicentre of the virus, officials said on Saturday.
