Passengers with travel history to 7 countries post Feb 15 ,will be quarantined.

Hyderabad: In a fresh advisory, the Telangana health department has directed that all people who arrived at Hyderabad airport from seven countries after 15 February will be quarantined immediately after they arrive in the city. In the statement released on 16 March, the department said that all passengers, including foreign nationals, arriving at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad from China, Iran, Italy, Republic of Korea, France, Spain, and Germany through direct flights will be quarantined for 14 days after arrival.

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to the contagious disease to see if they become sick. Quarantine is different from isolation, in the sense that isolation is adopted for sick people, to prevent further spread of the disease.

People with a travel history to these countries and who reached Hyderabad via hubs like Dubai and Abu Dhabi are also to be quarantined, said the health department. It may be noted that all passengers will be quarantined, irrespective of whether they show symptoms of COVID-19 or not.

The government of Telangana has further directed airports in the state to follow certain procedures regarding quarantining passengers. While those showing symptoms of the virus will be isolated and escorted to isolation facilities at designated hospitals, passengers who have no symptoms will be sent to the quarantine facility for 14 days.

As of 15 March, Telangana has a total of 1,208 suspected cases of Corona virus. Out of this, 375 have been put under hospital isolation, while results are awaited for 28 people. The state has reported three positive cases, the most recent was a 42-year-old man who had travelled from the Netherlands. Telangana’s first COVID-19 patient was discharged on 13 March. Another student from Italy has tested positive and is in the isolation ward of Gandhi Hospital, the nodal centre for Corona virus in the state.