Coronavirus: 262 passengers screened at Hyderabad airport, no cases found

A total of 262 passengers coming from Hong Kong underwent thermal screening at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China, officials said on Friday. No cases were found when screening was done on Thursday, they said.

"We are doing thermal imaging for screening passengers coming from Hong Kong and the necessary equipment has been put up. Hyderabad does not have direct flight connectivity with China," Dr. Anuradha Medoju, chief of Airport Health Organisation, Hyderabad, told PTI.

According to her, even airlines have started asking the passengers to give a self-declaration if they have any symptoms of fever, cough, cold or sneezing, among others. If there are suspected cases they will be referred to state-run hospitals and their blood samples will be sent for analysis," she added.

We have not found any cases so far," she said. The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from the common cold to acute respiratory syndromes, but the virus that has killed people in China is a novel strain and not seen before.

Common symptoms include respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, according to the WHO.