19 passengers on Air India’s Vande Bharat flight to Wuhan test positive for COVID-19

Nineteen passengers of Air India's 'Vande Bharat' flight to Wuhan were found to be COVID-19 positive by Chinese officials at the Wuhan Airport in China. The passengers belonged to Air India's October 30 flight to China, which was the first flight to Wuhan under the VBM, and the sixth flight to the communist country under the Centre's massive repatriation mission. 

Air India while issuing an official statement said that all passengers who had boarded the flight had gone through mandatory COVID testing and had only been allowed to board after they showed their COVID negative certificates. According to the rules, all passengers have to undergo two mandatory COVID-19 tests before they're allowed to board the flight.

"On 30th October, 19 passengers on Air India’s Vande Bharat flight to Wuhan tested positive for COVID19 at Wuhan Airport, China. The airline is aware of the incident. All passengers boarded the flight after thorough checks of their COVID negative certificate," said Air India, in an official statement. 

Read: Over 2 Million Indians Returned From Abroad Under 'Vande Bharat' Mission: MEA

Read: India To Operate Two More Vande Bharat Flights To China

As per the Chinese authorities, all 19 passengers have been immediately transferred to a local hospital, and would only be allowed to leave once they test negative for the virus. India has previously flown five flights to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Ningbo.

Over two million Indians have returned from all corners of the world through the government's 'Vande Bharat' evacuation mission which was launched on May 7 in the thick of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs revealed on October 29.

In phase 7 of the mission, which began on October 1, as many as 1,057 international flights have operated from 24 nations, reaching 22 airports across India and repatriating an estimated 1,95,000 people, as per the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava. 

Read: Vande Bharat Mission Brought Back 20 Lakh Indians From Foreign Countries: ILO

Read: 17.22 Lakh Indians Have Returned From Abroad Under 'Vande Bharat' Mission: MEA

(With Agency Inputs)