Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has decided to relax the condition which mandates COVID-19 certificate for all expats returning to Kerala. As per the new decision, COVID-19 certificate is not mandatory for expats if they are returning to Kerala on or before June 19.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will seek the central government’s decision on the matter in the virtual meeting with Prime Minister on June 16.
Earlier, the government had put forward the condition that the expats should produce a COVID-19 certificate when airline companies approached the government seeking permission to operate chartered flights from Gulf Countries. But, various organisations of the expats informed the government about the difficulties to undergo the COVID-19 test before the journey.
Responding to this, the government recommended that every passenger coming to Kerala must undergo a rapid test. NRI organisations informed that many of the foreign countries lack facilities for the rapid test.
After examining the reports from the NRI organisations, the state government informed that COVID-19 negative certificate is not mandatory for returning expats till June 19.
The Chief Minister will discuss with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a system to carry out COVID-19 test at the airports.
It is reported that 800 flights carrying expats are expected to land in Kerala in the coming days. So, sources close to the government revealed that strict conditions should be imposed on the repatriation procedure to control the spread of the virus.
