New coronavirus outbreaks call for self-isolation
All passengers on a flight from the Greek island Zante to Cardiff in Wales were told to self-isolate after seven cases of Covid-19 were confirmed
Public Health Wales said there were three different ‘infectious parties’ on TUI flight 6215 and all travellers were ‘close contacts’. TUI said it had contacted the 193 passengers and crew to tell them to self-isolate.
On Friday, authorities in Zante had tightened coronavirus measures to ban all gatherings of more than nine people, limited numbers allowed at a single table in restaurants to four and enforce mandatory face masks indoors and outdoors.
Dr Giri Shankar of Public Health Wales said: “These passengers will be contacted shortly, but meanwhile, they must self-isolate at home as they may become infectious, even without developing symptoms. Anyone with symptoms should book a test without delay.
“Our investigations into a number of cases of coronavirus have indicated that a lack of social distancing, in particular by a minority of the 20- to 30-year age group, has resulted in the spread of the virus to other groups of people.
“I would make a direct appeal to young people to remember that even if they feel that they would not be badly affected by Covid-19 if they were to test positive for it, if they were to pass it on to older or more vulnerable family members, friends or colleagues it could be extremely serious, even fatal.”
This comes only days after officials in Plymouth, UK, had launched an urgent bid to trace a group of 30 teenagers who had returned from Zante, after finding at least 11 of the group had tested positive for the virus.
Public health director Ruth Harrell said her team was working alongside the national systems to contact and trace the young people thought to have been affected.
“We know that some of these young people had no symptoms, and so carried on as normal, including a night out in Plymouth’s bars and restaurants, until they became aware of the risk,” she said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that local lockdowns and restrictions such as those seen in Zante could allow life in Europe to continue without a vaccine. Elsewhere, on 31 August, Australia recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic so far, with 41 deaths and 73 new infections in one day.
Nearly 25.5 million cases of coronavirus have been confirmed around the world, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 850,535 people have died. Some 16.8 million people have recovered.