Kerala makes elaborate plans for Pravasi Malayali’s return

 Thiruvananthapuram, April 28: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today informed that as and when the Central Government allows aircrafts to bring back non-resident Indian, the State is ready to receive them. Till now, 2.76 lakh Pravasi Malayalees from 150 countries have registered on the Norka website indicating their desire to come back to Kerala. As per the initial numbers, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Thrissur districts have the maximum number of Pravasi returnees.

 A committee under the District Collector with representatives from the Airports Authority of India, Kerala Police and Head Department would oversee the elaborate arrangements at the airports to receive the Pravasi Malayalees. There will be doctors and paramedical staff at the airport for detailed checking of the arriving passengers. The rooster of the passengers would be obtained from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs well in advance.

 The Chief Minister said that after the initial screening, those without symptoms would be sent to their homes for quarantine. There would be regular monitoring by the Police and Healthcare workers to ensure that they follow the quarantine rules. Telemedicine facilities and mobile medical units would be set up under panchayats to ensure proper medical care for those under isolation. Those who cannot undergo quarantine at home can opt for the government quarantine centres.

 Those with symptoms would be moved straight to the quarantine centres and their luggage would be sent home. The Motor Vehicle Department and Police have been entrusted to make the necessary transport arrangements. Adequate quarantine and medical facilities near airports have been identified and made ready.

 “If the Central Government decides to bring the Pravasis by ships, we will make similar arrangements at the ports also. There is no shortage of Viral Transport Medium and we have enough stock of PCR and RNA extraction kits. The Kerala Medical Services Corporation has been directed to procure more kits”, the CM added.

 Minister of Health & Social Justice, Smt K K Shailaja; Revenue Minister, Shri E Chandrasekharan, and Chief Secretary, Shri Tom Jose IAS were also present during the briefing.

Registration for Malayalees in other States to begin on April 29

 People from Kerala who are currently stuck or stranded in different parts of the country because of the lockdown and desire to come back to Kerala can register their details on the Norka website www.registernorkaroots.org. The registration will begin on April 29, 2020, Wednesday evening. Priority would be given to those who have gone for medical treatment in other states and residents of other states who have registered for specialist treatment in Kerala. Students, those who have lost jobs, those who went for exams or interviews can also register.

Kerala Covid-19 Tracker

Four new cases & four recoveries today, total 123 patients under treatment

Thiruvananthapuram, April 28: Four new cases of Coronavirus infection were confirmed in Kerala today - three from Kannur district and one in Kasargod district. Two of them have come back from overseas and two are cases of local transmission. At the same time, four patients under treatment for Covid-19 have recovered and tested negative, two each from Kannur district and Kasargod districts. This was announced by Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan during his daily media briefing about the Covid situation in the State.

 Till date, 485 cases of Coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Kerala and 123 patients are under treatment in various hospitals in the State.

 Across the State, 20,773 persons are under surveillance with 20,255 under quarantine at their homes and 518 isolated in hospitals. 151 people were hospitalised today. Overall, 23,980 samples have been tested and 23,277 samples have tested negative with no infection.

 875 samples from people in the high-risk group of healthcare workers, migrant labourers and those with higher community contacts were tested and so far, 801 samples have so far tested negative. Further, as part of widespread checking, 3,101 samples were tested across 14 labs and 2,682 results were negative. 391 results are awaited while 25 samples would be retested.

 The Chief Minister also informed that three panchayats in Idukki district including Munnar, one panchayat and a municipality in Kottayam district, and one panchayat each in Malappuram and Palakkad districts have been declared as hotspots. This takes the total number of hotspots in the State to 100. “Based on the experiences of Kottayam and Idukki, we need to rethink and review the lockdown situation and decided on the further course by May 03.”

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