Mumbai prepares to receive Indians from abroad, first flight lands tonight – The Indian Express

Indian nationals wait to board an Air India aircraft in London on Saturday. They will land in Mumbai at 1.30 am on May 10, 2020. (Twitter/@HCI_London)

At least 326 Indian nationals boarded the first flight to Mumbai from London on Saturday. The flight from London’s Heathrow airport is expected to land in Mumbai around 1.30 am (May 10), as part of the government’s Vande Bharat mission to bring back citizens stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Two more flights are expected to arrive in Mumbai from Singapore and Manila with over 500 passengers on Sunday. As per the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) issued by the Maharashtra government which is in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), thermal screening of all passengers will be carried out by the civic body’s health officials.

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On arrival, all passengers will have to download the Aarogya Setu mobile application and will be quarantined at a paid facility for a period of 14 days, from the date of arrival. The Mumbai civic body has arranged 3,343 rooms in 88 hotels to quarantine people returning from various countries. Seven flights will land in Mumbai in coming days with 1,900 passengers. These 88 hotels are of various categories including 2/3/4/5 star hotels. Some apartment hotels & Oyo hotels are also in the list of these 88 hotels. BEST buses, taxis have been arranged to transport passengers to the paid quarantine facilities.

BMC’s health officials will regularly check those in quarantine facilities in the city. If the passengers test negative after 14 days, they will be allowed to go home and will have to undertake self-monitoring of health for next 14 days. If tested positive, the person will be shifted to municipal quarantine facilities or dedicated hospitals.

All asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to leave for their respective districts or states, given the host state is ready to receive them. Travel passes will be issued to such passengers. As per the SOP, “Those passengers who are resident of other states and are desirous of travelling to their home state, they will be permitted, provided the host state is ready to receive.”

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