People cured of Ebola overseas may have to wait for three months before they can enter India as government plans to strengthen measures against the disease after Health Ministry found guidelines for screening incoming passengers at airports for the deadly virus were not being implemented properly.
"Currently, there is no case of Ebola in India but we are being extra cautious. Even WHO has advised that a person after being cured of Ebola should avoid travelling for three months and use condoms while having intercourse as their body fluids like semen and urine may still be infected, to contain the spread of the deadly virus.
"So, the ministry is mulling over issuing an advisory in this regard and discussions are still on," said a senior Health Ministry official.
An inspection team formed by the Ministry has found that several measures like screening incoming passengers at airports for the deadly virus, including checking their 21-day travel history, are not being implemented properly and lacunae have been detected in this.
The Health Ministry has formed a three-member committee comprising officials from the Health, Civil Aviation Ministries and the immigration department and is in the process of constituting teams which will inspect the screening arrangements at isolation facilities at 18 airports identified by government along with the hospitals earmarked by state governments for Ebola treatment.
"A three-member team will be constituted to inspect all airports to identify the gaps. It will include officials from the Health, Civil Aviation and Immigration departments," an official statement said today, adding the committee will submit its report within a week.
However, Union Health Minister J P Nadda today said the situation is under "complete control" and there is no need to panic.
Of the 14 airports identified, isolation facilities at 12 airports were not on par with the Health Ministry guidelines and India at present is using the quarantine facilities only at Delhi and Mumbai.
The Ministry has initiated the process of upgrading the isolation facilities at the rest.
The Health Minister asked officials to ensure that quarantine facilities set up at airports adhere to all guidelines and protocols.
The detection of Ebola virus in a 26-year-old man, who arrived here on November 10 from Liberia, Africa, was the result of "extra caution" shown by the government, he said.
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