Woman who reportedly flew to India despite positive Covid-19 test had recovered before flight: Sats
BANGALORE – A passenger who arrived at Tiruchirappalli International Airport on Sunday (Feb 7) had recovered from a recent infection of Covid-19 and was issued a Fit to Fly Health Certificate after being assessed by a doctor in Singapore, a spokesman for Sats said on Monday.
This was in response to a report in India that the passenger who arrived on an Air India Express flight had produced a certificate which showed a positive test result for the disease.
“The passenger had recovered from a recent infection of Covid-19 virus, and she was issued a Fit to Fly Health Certificate after being assessed by a Singapore doctor. The process of allowing the passenger to board complied with the stringent air travel protocols of Singapore’s Ministry of Health,” the Sats spokesman said.
An Airport Authority of India official at the international airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu told The Straits Times on Monday that the Aircraft Public Health Officers came across the passenger while doing routine checks of all arrivals after the flight landed at 7.30am. They had asked if anyone had a Covid-19 positive test.
“This lady passenger showed us a certificate that marked her as Covid positive. We don’t know how they allowed her to even board the flight in Singapore. We immediately called an ambulance and sent her to the government hospital,” said the official who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
The IX1681 Air India Express flight had departed at 5.30am from Singapore.
Trichy district officials said they were contacting all passengers aboard the flight and asking them to get tested for Covid-19.
The flight was part of the Vande Bharat Mission, the Indian government’s effort to bring home stranded Indian nationals from other countries.
“We have asked our country manager at Singapore to investigate the matter and explanation has been sought from the ground handling agency at Singapore,” a spokesman for Air India Express, India, told The Straits Times.
Additional reporting by Clara Chong
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