Two more passengers test positive for coronavirus

Two passengers who arrived at NSCBI Airport from Bangkok have tested positive for the novel

coronavirus, Airports Authority of India officials said on Thursday.

With this, a total of three passengers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Kolkata.

A passenger called Himadri Barman tested positive on Tuesday, and Nagendra Singh tested positive on Wednesday, the

Director of NSCBI Airport, Kaushik Bhattacharjee, told PTI. Both of them were sent to Beliaghata ID Hospital, he

said. "Earlier a passenger called Anita Oraon had also

tested positive during thermal scanning," Bhattacharjee said. Already two airlines which had direct flights between

Kolkata and China have suspended their flights. Low cost carier IndiGo has temporarily suspended its

flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from February 6. "In line with the WHO guideline to contain the spread

of coronavirus, IndiGo will be suspending its Kolkata- Guangzhou service from February 6, 2020 to February 25, 2020

and Guangzhou-Kolkata from February 7 till February 26," the airline had said in a statement.

After IndiGo, China Eastern Airlines suspended its flights between Kolkata and Kunming in China from February 10

to February 29. Passengers of flights coming to Kolkata from Kunming

and Guangzhou in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok were being screened since January 17.

At present, passengers arriving from Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok are being screened as no flights are

operating to and from China.