Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday (January 8) announced that all travellers arriving to Delhi from the United Kingdom, who test negative for the coronavirus, will be sent to a quarantine facility for seven days.
This will be followed by a further seven-day home quarantine, Kejriwal informed today via a post from his official handle on Twitter.
Kejriwal's Twitter post reads as follows:
"To protect Delhiites from exposure to virus from UK, Del govt takes imp decisions.
All those arriving from UK, who test positive will be isolated in an isolation facility. Negative ones will be taken to a quarantine facility for 7 days followed by 7 days home quarantine."
The Delhi government order also noted that officials will have "strict surveillance" on those in home quarantine after they complete institutional quarantine.
The order will be applicable on a trial basis for a week till Jan 14, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority said.
The announcement comes amid concerns over the new mutant coronavirus strain and the subsequent surge in COVID-19 cases in the UK. The new strain is said to be 70% more infectious.
Meanwhile, flights between India and the UK resumed today in a limited manner. The services had been suspended on December 23 after the new and more contagious variant of the coronavirus had emerged in the UK.
As per the latest government guidelines, all passengers arriving from the UK would have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR test in the UK as well as in India.
Prior to the suspension, over 60 flights per week were being operated between UK and India.
Airlines such as Vistara, Air India, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways operate flights between the two countries
According to health ministry data, a total of 82 persons have so far been found in India with the new mutant variant of the coronavirus.
India has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world after the US. The virus has so far claimed 150,570 lives.
(With inputs from agencies)
