INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:

Kathmandu, February 24 A Nepali, who arrived in Kathmandu from Singapore last night, passed through the immigration area of Tribhuvan

International Airport just like in the days before coronavirus outbreak was reported. Passengers arriving in Nepal pictured on a thermal

scanner for checking body temperature, inside the arrival section at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, on Tuesday, January 28,

2020

Airport authorities have adopted this measure after the outbreak of coronavirus in China, which is spreading across the world

Photo: Skanda Gautam/THT &Nobody asked me about my travel history or checked my body temperature,& he said on condition of

anonymity. Washington Cruz, a Brazilian, Emily Kaske, a German, and Prashant Sharma, a Nepali, who arrived in Kathmandu from New Delhi this

afternoon too did not have to undergo any health screening or were asked any question. &When in transit in Doha, I was asked about recent

travel history and health conditions,& said Sharma, who came to Nepal from Cyprus

&But here nobody asked anything,& he added. This is the situation at Nepal only international airport, which is yet to enhance health

screening despite growing fears that the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak could reach pandemic scale with more and more countries

witnessing spike in infection. Most of the airports across the world nowadays take body temperature of passengers and ask them to fill out a

form mentioning travel history and any sign of illness

Even neighbouring India, which until recently was stringent on passengers coming from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and

Japan, has expanded health screening for anyone travelling from Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. Nepal too says it monitors

travellers from China, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia to prevent the novel coronavirus from entering the country

But passengers that THT talked to said they did not have to undergo any health screening. &There is a thermal scanner at the airport to

check body temperature of passengers

Passengers are tested individually only if thermal scanner detects high body temperature,& said Dr Bibek Kumar Lal, director at the

Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. But, according to Dr Lal, the thermal scanner cannot record temperature of passengers coming in

groups

This indicates people with above normal body temperature can easily pass through the airport unnoticed if they come in a group. Health

experts have been saying that surveillance should be enhanced at airports as the number of coronavirus cases is rising globally. The virus,

which originated in Wuhan, has killed nearly 2,600 people and infected about 77,000 in China

More than 1,200 cases have been confirmed in about 30 other countries, where more than 20 have died. &We have suggested that the government

strengthen infrastructure and enhance surveillance to prevent people, who might have been exposed to coronavirus infection, from entering

the country,& said an official of the Ministry of Health and Population on condition of anonymity, adding, &A meeting was held at the

ministry today to discuss this issue.& Korea-returnees visit hospital The post TIA yet to enhance health screening for coronavirus appeared

first on The Himalayan Times.