Kerala on Saturday reported 85 new coronavirus cases taking the total tally to 2,407, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office said. Amid a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases, there is some relief also as 46 people were cured and discharged from hospitals.
Among the new coronavirus cases, 53 are expatriates, 18 came from other states and 10 people got infected from others, his office said adding full lockdown will be in place on Sunday. Currently, the active cases are 1,342, at least 1,045 people have recovered and there have been 20 deaths. The total number of people under observation has risen to 2, 35,000 and the state has 117 containment zones.
As more flights are expected from the middle-eastern countries, the worried government has issued an order making a Covid-19-free certificate mandatory for all passengers coming by chartered flights. This has evoked sharp reactions from the expatriate community and opposition parties. “It is a cruel move. The government should withdraw it immediately,” said state opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala.
The latest notification came at a time when many organisations working among the expat community in the Gulf arranged chartered flights to reach home as coronavirus cases shot up in some countries. At least, 400 chartered flights are being planned in one-month. They said the move was highly discriminatory as people coming by ‘Vande Bharat’ flights did not need such a certificate. At least, 212 people from the state have died in the Gulf due to Covid-19 in the last two months.
{{/usCountry}}The latest notification came at a time when many organisations working among the expat community in the Gulf arranged chartered flights to reach home as coronavirus cases shot up in some countries. At least, 400 chartered flights are being planned in one-month. They said the move was highly discriminatory as people coming by ‘Vande Bharat’ flights did not need such a certificate. At least, 212 people from the state have died in the Gulf due to Covid-19 in the last two months.
{{/usCountry}}