COVID-19 crisis: DGCA amends circular for airline crew, specifies home quarantine rules

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Monday issued an addendum to its circular dated March 23 for the management of airline crew during the COVID-19 crisis. The amendment was done after considering the opinion of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As per the addendum, the risk assessment for the crew shall be done by the concerned airline doctor and the crew will be advised for COVID-19 testing according to the ICMR guidelines.

Based on the risk assessment, it will be determined whether the crew should be subjected to 14 days of home quarantine or not. However, home quarantine is mandatory for a crew member who comes in contact with a novel coronavirus case during flight operations. Such information will be shared with the Airport Health Organization for coordinating with the state government. Moreover, all crew members shall be advised to download the Aarogya Setu app for monitoring their health status.

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6084 Indians repatriated on June 21

While the domestic flight operations recommenced on May 25, international flight operations barring for repatriation flights remain suspended. On June 21, 6084 Indian nationals returned from abroad under the aegis of the Vande Bharat Mission. Flights from Lagos, Vancouver, Moscow, Kyiv, Stockholm, Auckland, Toronto, London, Chicago, San Fransisco, Frankfurt, Washington, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Narita, Bishkek, Sydney, and Dammam ferried back Indians to various parts of the country. Commenting on the possibility of resuming international air operations, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri stated that the domestic air traffic must reach about 50-60% and other countries should open up to international traffic without current conditionalities. He assured a calibrated decision would be taken when the situation evolved in that direction. 

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COVID-19 crisis in India

Currently, there are 4,25,282 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 2,37,196 patients have recovered while 13,699 fatalities have been reported. As per the WHO Situation Report 153 dated June 21, 2020, India's cases per lakh population are 30.04 as against the global average of 114.67. 1,43,267 samples were tested were in the last 24 hours. So far,  69,50,493 samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in 723 government labs and 262 private labs. With 9,440 patients recovering from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, India's recovery rate surged to 55.77%. At present, there are 1,74,387 active cases in the country. 

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's Cases Soar To 4.25 Lakh; Death Toll Stands At 13,699