Thiruvananthapuram, June 17: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today announced that pre-flight Covid tests are mandatory for all those coming back to the State from overseas, irrespective of whether they are taking flights under the Vande Bharat mission or chartered flights arranged by various organisations. Private airlines are already insisting on Covid negative results before allowing passengers to fly back home.
Briefing the media, the Chief Minister said, “Right from the beginning of the Vande Bharat mission, we have been requesting the Central government that pavasies should come back to Kerala only after testing. The State had insisted on Covid tests for all, including for those who are flying back on chartered flights. Those flying by Spice Jet are already doing it. Covid test is mandatory and it’s the same norm for all. It is not safe for the passengers to have a few infected people among them. If doing PCR test for passengers is difficult, let them do antibody tests. The True Nat testing is cheaper and gives results faster which is suitable for travellers. Government of India should make arrangements for testing through Embassies in countries where facilities for testing is not there. The airline companies can also work with the health department to facilitate the tests.”
The Chief Minister added that it is really unfortunate that a misinformation campaign is being done and even a Central Minister is also a part of it. “Do not try to play politics using the health of the public during a disaster. Some attempts are being done to undermine our security when people are coming from other states.”
“We welcome all pravasies to come back, whether they come from abroad or from other states, whether they are sick or not and will provide the necessary treatment. There is no change in our stance. At the same time, the government must be vigilant to prevent an outbreak. If we do not take adequate precautions, the spread of disease will be out of control. The Centre should explore the possibility of arranging separate flights for those infected. At present, 1.5% of the people who come here from abroad are Covid positive. When the number of passengers increases by more than 200,000, the number of Covid positive cases are likely to increase drastically and this can lead to community spread.