Coronavirus outbreak: Airports start stringent screening to check spread

All thanks to several doctors on standby, the queues of fliers are manageable

The lines and monotony of air terminal travel just got longer, on account of another cleanliness convention at air terminals. Registration staff watch withdrawing travelers for sneezes, runny noses, and hacks. Mentors taking travelers to and from airplane are washed down every day with liquor based cleaning specialists. Infrared thermometers welcome every single worldwide traveler showing up at Indian air terminals. The screening of travelers from China had started on January 17 and was later extended to cover another 13 influenced nations yet with the identification of 39 cases, the administration has raised the preventive measures at all air terminals. Requests for all inclusive screening were given on Thursday and metropolitan and state specialists were quickly called to help with the undertaking.

Travelers showing up at Mumbai and Delhi air terminals needed to sit tight in a line for as long as 40 minutes for the pre-migration wellbeing check. By Friday, be that as it may, the lines possessed abbreviated and the hanging tight energy for most travelers had decreased to 5-15 minutes as extra specialists and paramedics were deputed for checks. Be that as it may, around the same time, the procedure was fixed further when the legislature requested separate entries at customs and movement and separate stuff belts for travelers showing up from 12 ‘helpless’ nations. The air terminals still can’t seem to execute this mandate.

“It took 10-12 minutes to finish the wellbeing screening. It was not packed however the air terminal specialists ought to give separate counters to senior residents,” said Saleel Mohidekar who showed up from the US in Mumbai on Friday. A US resident who likewise showed up on Friday said Mumbai air terminal expected to give hand sanitisers and wipes to outside nationals who are finger imprinted on appearance…

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Delhi pollution: AQI still in ‘severe’ category, Odd-even enters Day 2

The odd-even scheme, which kickstarted on Monday has entered Day 2 with only odd-numbered non-transport vehicles allowed on Delhi roads

Pollution levels in the national capital surged on Tuesday morning as the air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category. A day after high wind speed helped bring down pollution levels in the city, SAFAR, the government-run monitoring agency, said Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) was 411 at 7:00 am. Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad too recorded ‘severe’ overall air quality.

An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401-500 severe.

Above 500 is severe-plus emergency category.

The odd-even scheme, which kickstarted on Monday has entered Day 2 with only odd-numbered non-transport vehicles allowed on Delhi roads. In the National Capital Region (NCR), Noida (493) and Gurugram (405), also breathed polluted air.

Taking a grim view of the surge in pollution levels, the Supreme Court yesterday slammed authorities for failing to curb pollution in Delhi-NCR and said they have left people to die. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta took serious note of crop burning in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh and said it cannot go unabated every year.

“Can we survive in this atmosphere? This is not the way we can survive,” the bench said. The bench called the pollution in Delhi-NCR as atrocious and said no one is safe even inside homes. The Centre, in response said that the number of ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ days increased to 175 in 2019 against 157 in 2018. According to the Centre, the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali, stubble burning and adverse meteorology conditions exacerbated the pollution level in Delhi-NCR.