'COVID-19 doesn't spread by touching an infected person'

An expert panel of the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Friday told Bombay High Court that COVID19 does not spread by touching a person who is a carrier of the deadly virusThe expert committee under the chairmanship of the civil aviation secretary submitted a note to a division bench of Justice S J Kathawalla and Justice S P Tavade hearing a petition filed by Air India pilot Deven Kanani who claimed the airline was not keeping middle seats vacant in flights bringing back stranded nationals to IndiaThe court had on Thursday asked the committee set up to review public health care protocols for air travel amid the COVID19 pandemic if COVID19 can be transmitted by mere touch of a person who is a carrier The committee in its note submitted to the court on Friday said the virus can be transmitted by touch only under certain circumstances like when an infected persons droplets from nose or mouth coughing or sneezing comes in contact with a surface or their clothes and another person comes in contact with that surface and then touches his or her nose eyes or mouthIf an infected person merely touches a noninfected person the virus will not be transmitted Transmission has to take place through droplets carrying the virus and ultimately the same reaching mouth nose or eyes of the other person the note said The committee also said if passengers wear protective gear mask and face shield provided by the airlines then it would decrease the risk of spread of COVID19 The HC has reserved its orderThe bench said all airlines shall adhere to the May 31 circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA asking them to try keeping middle seats vacant and provide wraparound gowns to passengers who are allotted such seats until HC passes an orderKanani in his plea claimed Air India was violating the guidelines laid down in a March 23 circular issued by the Centre Air India had informed the court last week that the March 23 circular was superseded and a new circular was issued by the government on May 22 As per the airline the new circular does not say the middle seat needs to be kept empty The high court last week noted that a cursory glance at the May 22 circular showed it applied only to domestic flights and not Vande Bharat international flights operated by Air IndiaThe court had then directed Air India and DGCA to clarify their stand Air India later approached the Supreme Court which while allowing the national carrier to keep operating its scheduled flights with middle seats filled till June 5 observed that the government should be more worried about the health of citizens than the health of commercial airlines The high court on Friday extended the apex court relief to Air India to book middle seats for Vande Bharat flights till it passes the order on the petitionCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever