Mumbai airport sets up preventive measures amid pneumonia outbreak in China

Air travelers arriving from China at the Mumbai airport will be subjected to undergo thermal screening as a preventive measure following the recent outbreak of Pneumonia caused by the 'Novel Coronavirus' in the Wuhan city of Hubei province of the East-Asian country, Mumbai airport authorities said on Saturday. Chinese carrier Air China and African airline Rwanda Air currently fly to Mumbai.

The Airport Health Organisation (APHO) team in Mumbai has activated a health counter and thermal scanners at the pre-immigration area for the arriving passengers, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said in a release. "All passengers traveling from China to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), will have to undergo a thermal screening as a matter of precaution," MIAL said.

MIAL said it has now expanded its existing passenger safety measures in compliance with the latest directive given by the World Health Organization (WHO) in case if any traveler is detected with the symptom. The concerned passenger will be immediately shifted to the isolation hospital earmarked for CSMIA on the advice of the APHO team, the aerodrome operator said, adding it will share a daily report with the ministry on the scanning of passengers.

"As reported by the Chinese authorities, this is a new type of coronavirus and is different from all other human coronaviruses. The World Health Organization has reported symptoms such as fever, difficulty in breathing and chest radiographs showing bilateral lung infiltrates as the cause of pneumonia," MIAL said in the release.

In order to prudently reduce the general risk of acute respiratory infections while traveling in or from affected areas such as Wuhan City, certain measures need to be taken, including avoid close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections, frequent handwashing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment, among others, the release stated.

Also, travelers with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquettes, MIAL said.

(With inputs from agencies.)