A 72-year-old Kazakhstan returnee upon his arrival in Delhi on Saturday at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport went missing, but was traced by the police to Ghaziabad and sent to home quarantine for 14 days. Arriving in Delhi from Almaty in Kazakhstan on flight no AI 1916, Harjeet Singh, a resident of Dilshad Garden, skipped the coronavirus screening at the IGI airport. He reportedly went missing from the entry gate of the screening hall at Terminal-3 of the IGI airport, the police said in a statement.
Information was passed on by Yamuna Vihar sub-divisional magistrate's (SDM) staff about the person going missing without undergoing a screening at the airport after which the police were notified. The police said Mr Singh intentionally chose to skip the COVID-19 screening after which they immediately swung into action in an operation to trace him. During their investigation, they tried to follow Mr. Singh's trail with his mobile phone number and address, which was revealed to be not in use. The police then surveyed the CCTV footage and noted the vehicle in which they spotted him leaving the airport. Using the electronic surveillance and vehicle's registration number, he was traced to Indirapuram in Ghaziabad and sent to home quarantine for 14 days as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). A police official said that a case has also been registered against Mr Singh under various relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Epidemic Act.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced the creation of a plasma bank to fight COVID-19 and appealed to those who had made a recovery from the infectious disease to come forward in donating plasma to help other patients who are currently under treatment. He further assured that conveyance for those willing to make a donation to the plasma bank will be arranged. Delhi has the second highest number of coronavirus cases in India and recorded 2,889 new cases on Sunday with 65 deaths linked to the disease. The state has the second highest number of COVID-19 infections with the total tally now standing at 83,077 cases.