Novel coronavirus: Thermal sensors set up at Amritsar airport to screen passengers

Thermal sensors have been installed at Amritsar international airport to screen passengers for deadly novel coronavirus, the Punjab government said on Monday.

The government will also set up a screening facility at Mohali international airport on Tuesday, state health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said, adding no case has been detected so far.

Thermal screening is already being done at airports in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.

The state health department also found no symptoms of infection among the four passengers, three at Amritsar airport and one at Mohali airport, who travelled to China recently, the minister said.

"There were only four people who had travel history to China. All of them have been found asymptomatic by the department of health," he said.

He said people who travelled to China in the last 28 days can report to their nearest district hospital for any assistance.

Officials at both the airports have been asked to display advisory for passengers to self-report their illness.

The minister reviewed the preparedness of the state in terms of logistics, isolation wards and ventilator status and advised people not to panic.

Singh said the state Health Department was fully aware of the situation and had made adequate arrangements to deal with any emergent cases.

"The state and district cells have been activated for early response and daily situation is being monitored by authorities and appropriate actions are being taken," he said.

As on January 26, 29,707 passengers from 137 flights have been screened for novel coronovirus (nCoV) infection symptoms and no case has so far been detected in India.

Novel coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illnesses ranging from common cold to acute respiratory syndromes, but the virus that has so far killed 80 people and affected 2,744 in China is a novel strain and not seen before.

It has emerged from a seafood and animal market in China's Wuhan, and is suspected to have spread to as far as the United States. According to the World Health Organisation, the common symptoms of the novel coronavirus strain include respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.