Coronavirus: Air India crew told to be in self-imposed quarantine

National passenger carrier Air India has asked the crew of its Vienna-Delhi flight on February 25 to be on a self-imposed home quarantine for 14 days to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus in India.

The development comes after a New Delhi resident tested positive for coronavirus. He had travelled on the Air India flight from Vienna to Delhi flight on February 25.

Ten crew members including the Commander and the Co-pilot of the flight have been told to be on a 14 day quarantine at their homes, a senior Air India official said.

"During this period, any symptoms of coronavirus should be brought to the notice of medical authorities and Air India," the officials said.

According to the official, the self-imposed quarantine is a part of precautionary standard operating procedure. It was also followed for the Air India crew which evacuated Indian nationals from China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Earlier, in the day, the Centre decided that passengers arriving from Italy and Iran will now also be screened for novel coronavirus infection at India's airports.

So far, the in-bound passengers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia have been screened to prevent the spread of coronavirus.IANS