Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday reiterated Kerala’s stance that COVID-19 test should be mandatory for expats returning to the state in chartered flights or as part of Vande Bharat Mission.
Addressing the media after a coronavirus review meeting here, the CM said that COVID-19 positive persons and those who are not suffering from the virus cannot be allowed to travel in the same flight and that such an action will be dangerous.
The expats are troubled by the lack of testing facilities in their country of residence. Currently, only one and half percent of the total expats who returned from other countries have been tested positive for the virus.
The number of returnees can increase to two lakhs in the coming days. It also means that the number of COVID patients could also go up. If sufficient precautionary steps are not taken, it could lead to community transmission of the disease, Pinarayi Vijayan pointed out.
The central government must communicate with countries where there are no COVID-19 testing facilities and provide necessary assistance. The Kerala government had granted permission for 300 flights by SpiceJet. They have informed that only those tested COVID-19 negative will be brought back in the flights.
Several organisations were also given permission to charter flights but under the condition that they will conduct COVID-19 tests similar to the ones used by SpiceJet. “If SpiceJet can conduct coronavirus tests, why can’t the other companies do the same,” the CM asked.
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