Thiruvananthapuram, June 24: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today said that misleading reports in newspapers here will be a threat to the lives of Pravasi Malayalees who continue to live in foreign countries and also for those who plan to go back to those countries.

The Chief Minister was responding to a report by a vernacular newspaper about the death of Keralites abroad due to Covid. The newspaper report had alleged that more Keralites will die abroad because of the lack of intervention of the State Government.

The Chief Minister said, “We need to remember one thing that Keralites still live in all these countries and they just need to stay there. Any misinformation campaign will affect them. It is really dangerous that the newspaper is misleading those who are still there. Keralites are spread across the world. No one has died because of the lack of flights to Kerala. They have had access to medical treatment available in every country and it is unfortunate that they died. Could we bring back all the sick Pravasies from foreign countries? Are they unaware that in the past there were lockdowns with no flights and no alternatives? It is sad that people are trying to capitalise on this situation.”

“When the government took the stand that screening should be made mandatory for all coming back from foreign countries, some came up with a campaign to mislead them. There was an attempt to provoke expatriates and create resentment against the government. The Government had stated from the beginning that all expatriates who desire to return are welcomed to Kerala and the government will make all the necessary arrangements”, he added.

72 flights are coming to Kerala today and a total of 14,058 passengers are expected to arrive in these flights.  71 are from the Gulf countries. 24 flights will be landing in Kochi, 22 in Kozhikode, 16 in Kannur and 10 in Thiruvananthapuram.

So far, 543 flights and three ships have arrived in the state. Out of these, 335 are chartered aircraft and 208 were part of the Vande Bharat mission. So far, 1,114 flights have been approved with 154 consent letters. 462 chartered flights have been approved till June 30.

The government has been providing free medical treatment to all the people diagnosed with the disease so far.