ugc_banner

Two Indian nationals flown back from Gulf to Kerala test coronavirus positive

WION Web Team
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, IndiaUpdated: May 09, 2020, 07:22 PM IST
main img
Photograph:(PTI)

Story highlights

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 59,662 people and killed around 1,981 people in India till now.

Two fresh cases of coronavirus were reported from Kerala on Saturday, both being foreign returnees who were among the expatriates airlifted by the Centre on Thursday, as part of its mission to bring back stranded Indians abroad.

One of the infected individuals is being treated in Kozhikode, while the other is receiving treatment in Kochi. They reached the state on May 7 in the Abu Dhabi- Kochi and Dubai-Kozhikode flights

This has taken the number of coronavirus cases in the state to 505, with 17 people now in hospital.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a press briefing, said more people non-resident Keralites (NRKs) would arrive and the state was ready with all arrangements in place. 

"We have 207 state-run and 125 private hospitals. 27 hospitals have been kept ready to be turned into full-time COVID-19 hospitals," he added.

Air India is further scheduled to operate 64 paid flights between May 7 and May 13, and the Indian Navy conducting similar exercises on water. As many as 698 Indians are being transported from the Maldives to Kochi via Indian Navy warship INS Jalashwa.

Those that land in India will be required to go through levels of screening and a mandatory quarantine period.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. All commercial passenger flights were suspended for this period.

The first and second phase of lockdown in India was from March 25 to April 14 and April 15 to May 3, respectively. The third phase began from May 4 and would end on May 17.

Whenever the government resumes commercial passenger flights, it would be done in a graded manner, the civil aviation ministry had said.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 59,662 people and killed around 1,981 people in India till now.