125 passengers on Amritsar-bound chartered flight test COVID positive; Omicron status awaited [details]

Panic gripped Punjab's Amritsar airport after a total of 125 out of 179 passengers on an international chartered flight from Italy's Milan were tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival.

Reports said an international chartered flight from Italy to Amritsar was scheduled and landed at Amritsar airport at 11:15 am on Thursday. After a mandatory COVID test at the airport, 125 passengers were found positive for COVID.

"125 passengers of (Milan) Italy-Amritsar flight have tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival at Amritsar airport," a news agency reported while quoting VK Seth, Airport Director.

"It is to inform that the Amritsar airport has taken all necessary actions to stop the spread of COVID19. In today's flight, all 125 passengers which were tested positive, are being attended by state health officials. Rest 35 passengers tested negative have been advised self-monitoring and would be under supervision", an official of the Amritsar airport tweeted.

Infected foreign returnees shifted to quarantine centres

As per reports, the Amritsar airport authorities are in touch with the local administration to shift the positive passengers to the quarantine centres in different districts of Punjab.

"We have contacted local administration regarding shifting of passengers to several quarantine centres," Amritsar Airport Director said. There will be genome sequencing of all the passengers who have been found positive.

Family members hold protest

Questing credentials of the testing lab, family members of the passengers, who were tested positive, protested against the authorities. Family members, who reached the airport to receive their dear ones, alleged that reports were false.

DC Amritsar tested positive on Wednesday

Deputy Commissioner Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Kharia along with six members of his staff were earlier tested positive on Wednesday.

Like other districts of Punjab, COVID-9 cases are also increasing in Amritsar.

According to reports, till Thursday afternoon, 60 fresh Coronavirus cases were reported from Amritsar. The exact figure would emerge late Thursday evening after compiling the data.
On Wednesday 105 fresh cases were reported from Amritsar. Of these, 94 are new cases, while 11 are contacts of positive patients.