Question : COVID Positive Test of Air Passengers

(a) Whether the Government has taken note of the separate incidents wherein over 100 people on board flights from Italy tested COVID positive after landing in India and if so, the details thereof;
(b) Whether the Government has assessed the reasons for the same;
(c) Whether it is true that the high number of positive cases were due to false reports by a private testing laboratory;
(d) Whether the Government is aware that the Government had earlier removed the aforementioned private testing laboratory from the list of labs to which samples are sent following complaints of inordinate delay in getting results and if so, the details thereof; and
(e) Whether the Government has taken any action against the laboratory for the high number of false reports and if not, the reasons therefore?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE
(DR BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (e) On 6th January 2022 in a flight that came from Rome to Amritsar out of 179 passengers 125 passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival at the airport. On 7th January 2022, in another flight from Rome to Amritsar 173 passengers out of 290 passengers in the flight tested positive for COVID-19.
On a subsequent investigation, the high number of positive results were found to be due to contaminated testing machines by a private entity engaged for COVID-19 testing. Accordingly, the testing by the said laboratory was stopped with immediate effect on 7th January 2022 and the work for COVID-19 testing at the arrival airport has been awarded to a new laboratory.
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