Record Number Of People On Flight Test Positive For Covid

A record 47 passengers from a single fight tested positive for coronavirus.

Flight 6395 from Delhi to Hong Kong landed on 4 April and within two weeks almost 50 of its passengers had tested positive for the virus.

All passengers aboard the flight, operated by Indian airline Vistara, had given a negative test for Covid-19 within 72-hours of its departure - in keeping with Hong Kong's travel requirements.

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However, according to the Independent, a test after the fight found 25 passengers positive with an additional 22 cases 12 days after arrival.

The record-breaking news comes after India has seen a sharp rise in cases since the beginning of the month while the country deals with a new more infectious strain of the virus.

Speaking to the Independent, Mumbai-based Dr Sharad Awachar said: "What we are dealing with here is a catastrophe.

"I have to look after 75 beds of an ICU daily and the input of patients is way more than the output. We are at full capacity."

The UK has now added India to its 'red list' of countries, meaning travel to the country is banned.

Announcing the decision Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "After studying the data, and on a precautionary basis, we've made the difficult but vital decision to add India to the red list."

He added: "India is a country I know well and love. Between our two countries we have ties of friendship and family. I understand the impact of this decision but I hope the House will concur that we must act."

Hancock said most of the 103 cases of the new variant - officially known as B.1.617 - confirmed in the UK had been linked to international travel.

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Christina Pagel, professor of operational research at UCL and member of Independent Sage, said: "We are not likely to get definitive evidence on B.1.617 for a few weeks given low sequencing, testing and vaccination rates in India and low case numbers here."

From 23 April almost all people who have travelled from India in the last 10 days will be refused entry, while British or Irish passport holders or residents will be allowed in but must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier today that he had cancelled a scheduled trip to India later this month.

Topics: World News, Coronavirus

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19