Strict screening for Pravasi Malayalees returning from overseas and other States

 Thiruvananthapuram, May 08: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today said that the Government is doing all possible to help and support the returning expatriates. “The Government is providing all possible facilities for the returning Pravasies. Those coming from Red Zones will have mandatory quarantine for 14 days. Henceforth, those coming from red zones will be moved to quarantine centres from the check post itself.”

 Yesterday, two flights from UAE reached Kerala and today, one flight from Saudi Arabia is expected to arrive late night. The flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi came with 181 passengers including four infants, 15 children under the age of 10 and 49 pregnant women. Five people from this flight were admitted at Kalamassery Medical College for isolation. The flight from Dubai to Kozhikode had 182 passengers including five children.

 Today’s special flight from Riyadh to Kozhikode has 149 expatriates. Apart from 139 persons from 13 districts of the state, there are 10 from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also. The list includes 84 pregnant women, 22 children, five with emergency medical needs and three people above the age of seventy.

 A flight from Doha is expected to in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday with people from Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari, Kollam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts. The CM informed that all necessary arrangements have been made at the airport.

 He also requested those in quarantine to follow all the instructions by the health workers. Special care should be taken to ensure social distancing whether at home or in quarantine centres. “Quarantine centres are not set up like relief camps that are set up very quickly in the event of natural calamities. Here, the preparations have been going on for several days and the accommodation and other amenities are provided in accordance with the healthcare standards”, he added.

 86,679 Malayalees stranded in other States due to lockdown have registered for passes. Of these, 37,891 (43.71%) are from Red zone places. So far 45,814 have been issued passes and out of these, 19,476 were for those from Red zones. Till date, 16,385 people have reached back Kerala. Of these, 8,912 are from Red zones. Out of those who arrived yesterday, 3,216 have been moved to quarantine centres. Those who came earlier from Red zones earlier are being identified and moved to government quarantine centres for mandatory 14 days quarantine. Children below 10 years age, senior citizens above 75 and pregnant women will be quarantined at homes.

 The Chief Minister informed that pass distribution will continue as per the standard operating procedure in place but entry will not be permitted for those without prior registration.

 Meanwhile, till May 07, 24,088 migrant labourers have gone to their native states from Kerala in 21 special non-stop trains. This includes 10,017 migrant workers in nine trains to Bihar, 3,421 on three trains to Odisha, 5,689 on five trains to Jharkhand, 2,293 in two trains to Uttar Pradesh, 1,143 in one train to Madhya Pradesh and 1,131 in one train to West Bengal.

Kerala Covid-19 Tracker

Ten recoveries & one new case today, total 16 patients under treatment

 Thiruvananthapuram, May 08: Just one new case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Kerala today, in a person in Ernakulam district who had come to the State from Chennai. Meanwhile, ten patients under treatment have tested negative. All of them are from Kannur district. Till now, the total number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus infection in the State is 503 and 16 patients are still under treatment in different hospitals.

 20,157 persons are under surveillance in the State with 19,810 quarantined at their homes and 347 isolated at hospitals. 127 persons were admitted to hospitals today.

 Till today, 35,886 samples have been sent for testing and 35,355 samples have been confirmed with no infection. As part of sentinel surveillance of people in the high-risk group, 3,380 samples were collected separately and tested. Of these, 2,939 samples have tested negative. 

 No new place in the State was declared as hotspot today and currently, there are 33 hotspots in Kerala now.

 Briefing the media, the Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan said, “It’s been 100 days since the first case of Covid-19 in the country was reported in Kerala on January 30, in a student who returned from Wuhan in China. We could contain the spread at that stage. The second phase started in March first week. Now after two months, we have managed to flatten the curve. Our State has been able to restrain the spread and our recovery rate is comparable to the highest in the world. We are doing everything to avoid a third phase but we are prepared for any situation. With the return of the Pravasi Malayalees from abroad and other states, we should be more careful in the coming days. We expect responsible behaviour from the general public in this regard.”

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

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