After their arrival from Rome on Thursday morning, the passengers were tested for coronavirus as per India’s Covid-19 entry rules.
Amritsar airport director VK Seth told CNN that 160 passengers were tested, while 19 were exempted because they were under five years of age.
While the passengers who tested positive were shifted to a local hospital on Thursday, at least 10 separated from the main group and were able to escape the authorities.
Police is now searching for the absconding people.
“They were supposed to go to the hospital, but they went home… Police are now working on locating these people and will take the necessary action,” Doug told CNN.
“There were a large number of passengers there. They all said they would come to the hospital, and most of them did, but some were able to get out,” he said.
The highly contagious Omicron variant is straining medical resources in the country, as it grapples with rising cases.
On Friday, India reported 117,100 new Covid-19 cases – the highest daily increase in nearly seven months.
CNN’s Sara Spari and Isha Mitra contributed to this report.
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