Covid-19: 125 passengers test positive on Italy-Amritsar chartered flight

In a major development regarding the Covid-19 situation in the country, over a hundred passengers on a single flight landing in Punjab tested positive, as per news agency ANI.

The cluster appeared on a chartered flight from Italy's Milan to Amritsar. VK Seth, Airport director said that at least 125 passengers on the flight tested positive on arrival. The flight had a total of 179 passengers on board, and 160 were tested after exempting children and infants.

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Once the large number of positive reports came in, airport authorities informed the state administration. Seth said that the authorities were keen on placing the Covid-positive individuals in institutional quarantine in the districts where they were headed.

Punjab currently has over 4,400 active cases of Covid. As per reports, the state reported 1,871 new cases on January 5 - the highest single-day spike in 7 months. Punjab's positivity rate stood at 7.95%. The northern state has seen over 16,600 deaths due to Covid since the pandemic began almost 2 years ago.

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