With the number of novel Coronavirus positive cases increasing in India, passengers travelling to the country from China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Italy, Iran and other Covid-19 affected countries will now have to fill up a new form aboard their flights.
The announcement was made by the Modi-led NDA government as part of the latest measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which has claimed over 3,000 lives and infected at least 90,000 people worldwide.
On the recommendation from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested all airlines to distribute a "self-reporting form" to international passengers.
"For all travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Italy, Iran and other Covid-19 affected countries (to be presented at the health or immigration counters). All persons coming to India from covid-19 affected countries are required to fill this up. You are requested to provide the following information to safeguard your own health," the form states.
In the above form, details regarding your personal information need to be shared. Apart from it, details regarding the countries that you have visited in the last 14 days have to be filled. Also, whether you're suffering from any fever, cough or any respiratory diseases.
Intel employee in Bengaluru quarantined
US chip giant Intel has confirmed that one of its employees in Bengaluru has "potentially been exposed" to Covid-19 and is currently under quarantine. "An Intel employee in Bengaluru has potentially been exposed and is currently under quarantine in accordance with government requirements," Intel said in a late-night statement on March 3.
The tech giant stated that it has implemented precautionary measures like travel restrictions, increased frequency of office sanitisation, and work-from-home provisions in India.
28 coronavirus cases in India confirmed
India has confirmed 28 cases of coronavirus so far, Union Minister for Health Dr Harsh Vardhan stated today. These cases include:
The 45-year-old man in Delhi who had returned from Europe
24-year-old Hyderabad techie who travelled to Bengaluru after landing from Dubai
Six people from Agra who got infected after coming in contact with the Delhi patient
A group of 16 Italian tourists who travelled to Rajasthan and later Agra in Uttar Pradesh
One Indian driver who accompanied the Italian tourists
Twitter employees to work from home
Twitter has asked its 5,000 global employees to work from home while other tech giants like Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies instructed staff to avoid non-essential travel as IT firms put in place measures to safeguard workers against the deadly coronavirus.
In its blog post, the microblogging platform said, "We are working to make sure internal meetings, all hands, and other important tasks are optimized for remote participation."
