Kerala Chief Minister Writes To PM Modi: “Dangerous To Fly Back Indians Without Tests”

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it was dangerous to bring back Indians stranded abroad amid the coronavirus crisis without testing them as it could help the deadly virus spread.

“The people are being brought back without testing whether they have corona virus or not. This is very dangerous. There are 200 people in a flight. If one or two have the virus – this can be very dangerous for the country,” the Chief Minister said.

“Unfortunate that internationally followed protocols are not being followed. Have written to PM that those being brought back should be tested before the travel,” he added

Hundreds of thousands of Indians stranded abroad because of the COVID-19 pandemic will be brought back by air and by sea from Thursday in the world’s largest evacuation mission.

More than 1.9 lakh Indians have requested a flight home. Those taking the special flights will be charged around Rs 50,000 from Europe and Rs 1 lakh from the US.

Naval warships will also set out for Indians stuck in West Asia and the Maldives. This is the biggest exercise since national airline Air India flew back 1,70,000 during the first Gulf War.

Kerala has been gearing up for the return of expats from abroad, especially the Gulf region, with around 3 lakh expats from 150 countries registering on the state’s Non Resident Keralites Affairs or NORKA website till the end of last month.

Most of expats are expected to return to Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Thrissur districts of Kerala.

Pinarayi Vijayan had said that doctors and paramedical staff will be posted at the airport for detailed checking of the passengers arriving.

They will then be subject to mandatory quarantines at home and if they have symptoms, the will be quarantined to government facilities directly from the airport.

Kerala reported India’s first coronavirus case but with a widely-praised handling of the crisis, the state currently has only 37 active patients who are being treated in hospitals. More than 460 people have been released after recovering from the disease.