Mumbai civic body asks societies, hospitals to inform about UK, Middle East returnees

Mumbai: Amid fears of the spread of a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus, the civic body has instructed all the ward officers, residential societies and private hospitals to inform them of any patients or society members who have returned from the UK and the Middle East. So far 2,600 passengers have been contacted, of whom 1,200 have undergone the RT-PCR test. Civic officials said they are closely monitoring each passenger and special arrangements have been made for Covid-positive patients at SevenHills hospital.

This decision comes after three passengers who have returned to Mumbai via Dubai were traced and later quarantined or isolated. Nearly 2,600 passengers have arrived in Mumbai from the UK as well as other Europe and Middle East countries between November 25 and December 28.

Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner, BMC, said the reports of six of the 12 passengers who tested corona positive have turned out to be negative. However, they have sent the reports to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for genome sequencing. “We have instructed all the ward officers, residential societies and private hospitals immediately inform the BMC if any resident or any patients have returned from the UK and the Middle East. Moreover, we are tracing all the contacts of the passengers as most of them have migrated,” he said.

Dr Mangala Gomare, executive health officer, BMC, informed that the state government has handed over the details of the passengers who have returned to Mumbai to the civic body. Health officials are tracing them. "The civic body has procured the records of the passengers who returned from the UK and we are assessing them daily and updating our records," she said.

Kakani further said that they will conduct the RT-PCR test on all passengers again and so far 1,200 passengers have undergone RT-PCR. Meanwhile, they have sent a list of contact tracing to all the districts informing them these passengers have returned from the UK and the Middle East need to be quarantined or isolated. “We learnt that most of the contact tracing of the passengers who arrived in Mumbai have been migrated to their respective places, following which we have to monitor each passenger and their contact closely,” he added.