6 passengers on London-Delhi flight test Covid positive

New Delhi, December 22 

Six passengers travelling on Air India's London-Delhi flight tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival, a senior government official said on Tuesday.  

The flight landed around 11.30 pm on Monday.  

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"Five passengers were found COVID-positive at the Delhi airport. One passenger who took a connecting flight to Chennai was tested there and found positive," the official said.  

A second flight from London landed at 6 am on Tuesday. Tests on the passengers are underway, said Dr Gauri Agarwal, founder of the Genestrings Diagnostic Center that is handling coronavirus testing at Delhi airport.

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“Of the approximately 100 tests completed so far, no positive found… We have two more flights scheduled for tonight," Agarwal told PTI.

Meanwhile, eight people---seven passengers and a crew member---tested positive on another Air India flight from London to Amritsar. The flight landed at Amritsar's Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport in the small hours of Tuesday. 

The government on Monday said all UK-India flights will be suspended from December 23 to December 31 in view of the emergence of a new coronavirus strain in that country.  It also said all passengers coming from the UK on Monday and Tuesday would be compulsorily tested for coronavirus on arrival at airports.  

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The positive samples from Monday night's flight were sent to the National Centre for Disease Control, Agarwal told PTI.

"Positive samples have been sent to NCDC for research on the new strain using next-gen sequencing technology which will help us understand the implications on ongoing vaccine efficacy," she said. 

The NCDC works under the Union Health Ministry. PTI