Gandhinagar: Acting on the Centre’s instructions, the Gujarat government, with the help of Airport Authority of India (AAI) has set up special screening desks at the Ahmedabad and Surat international airports for the passengers arriving from abroad, in a move to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state.
“Basically we are placing thermal scanners to check the arriving passengers from abroad. Besides, we will be screening the arriving passengers through the screening teams comprising medical and paramedical staff,” Jayanti Ravi, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Gujarat told IANS.
“We are carrying out the entire procedure by coordinating with every agency, like the AAI, the central government, the state government and also the municipal corporations of both the cities. We have even imparted special training to them regarding the virus scare,” added Ravi.
According to sources, special desks have been set up at the arrival lounge at the Ahmedabad international airport by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to screen the arriving international passengers. The passengers are also asked to give a declaration by filling a form, which requires them to fill in their health status and that they are free of any disease or ailment.
Apart from that, special awareness campaigns, using flashboards at various places at the Ahmedabad airport have been placed depicting the cause and concern regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.
The death toll due to the coronavirus outbreak in China increased to 2,981 till Wednesday. Globally, about 86,000 people have been infected, with cases in more than 50 countries, officials said.
Prasanta Patnaik