Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it was dangerous to bring back Indians stranded abroad amid the coronavirus crisis without testing them as it could help the deadly virus spread.
"According to the central government, the people are being brought back without testing whether they have corona virus or not. This is very dangerous. There are 200 people in a flight. If one or two have the virus - this can be very dangerous for the country," the Chief Minister said at news conference.
"Our fellow Indians have to be brought back but it is unfortunate that internationally followed protocols are not being followed. Have written to PM that those being brought back should be tested before the travel," he added.
Hundreds of thousands of Indians stranded abroad because of the COVID-19 pandemic will be brought back by air and by sea from Thursday in the world's largest evacuation mission.
More than 1.9 lakh Indians have requested a flight home. Those taking the special flights will be charged around Rs 50,000 from Europe and Rs 1 lakh from the US.
Naval warships will also set out for Indians stuck in West Asia and the Maldives. This is the biggest exercise since national airline Air India flew back 1,70,000 during the first Gulf War.
Given that those returning are not being tested, Kerala has revised its strategy to medically deal with them, Pinarayi Vijayan said.
All Indians returning from abroad will be sent to seven days of quarantine in a government facility. On the seventh day, they will be tested. Once the results arrive in 24 hours, those who have tested negative will be sent home, but have will have to remain in self-isolation for another seven days.
Those who have tested positive will be shifted to hospitals for treatment. The state currently has more than 40,000 PCR test kits and will require more, Mr Vijayan said.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh too has ordered mandatory institutional quarantine for those returning from abroad.
The Kerala Chief Minister in his letter has also raised concerns about 80,000 people from the state being brought back as opposed to 1.69 lakh who were identified on a priority list including pregnant women, those who have lost jobs, children separated from families because of lockdown, students who have finished their courses or with expired visas.
Kerala has been gearing up for the return of expats from abroad, especially the Gulf region, with around 4 lakh expats from 150 countries registering on the state's Non Resident Keralites Affairs or NORKA website.
Kerala reported India's first coronavirus case in late January but with a widely-praised handling of the crisis, the state currently has only 37 active patients who are being treated in hospitals. More than 460 people have been released after recovering from the disease.