Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram: A United Kingdom national tested positive Sunday for coronavirus in Kerala and was stopped along with 18 others of his tourist group at the Kochi airport from flying to Dubai after he allegedly jumped quarantine in the hill resort town of Munnar, officials said.
The foreigner who tested positive and his wife have been admitted to an isolation facility at a nearby government hospital in Kochi while the 17 were sent to a hotel for quarantine after being offloaded from the flight, Kerala Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar told reporters at the airport.
Another passenger, a Keralite also booked on the Emirates flight scheduled for departure at 9.20am, voluntarily opted not to travel and has been advised home quarantine, officials informed.
The flight carrying 270 passengers left for Dubai at 12.47 pm after the 20 passengers were offloaded, airport spokesman said.
With the UK national testing positive, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases under treatment in Kerala has risen to 20 and over 300 under are in isolation wards of various hospitals.
The resort has been closed, its employees quarantined and steps taken to identify those who came in contact with the tourists in Kerala, officials said.
Talking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, state Health Minister KK Shailaja alleged the tourists had left the resort without informing the health officials and added the government would probe the matter.
“As soon as we got the positive result, the officials went to take them (the couple) to isolation ward but came to know they left for airport. The resort authorities should have been more vigilant as the government had given strict direction not to allow the foreigners to leave the resort,” Shailaja stated.
According to officials, the UK national had been put under quarantine at the resort in Munnar in Idukki district after he consulted a doctor there for fever few days ago.
There is however, no clarity on whether all the 19 travelled together to the airport.
The Briton and his wife belonged to a group of 19 foreign tourists visiting Kerala. The 17 other members of the group will remain quarantined at the hotel under the watch of the Ernakulam District administration, Kumar said.
Idukki District Collector H Dineshan said the resort authorities did not follow the directions issued by the Kerala government with regard to the tourists lodged there.
“They were under surveillance from March 11 in the resort itself. However, they left without informing us. The staff of the resort, including the manager, has been placed under quarantine,” Dineshan informed.
Earlier, the spokesman of the airport had that 289 passengers of the Dubai-bound flight were offloaded at the airport on Sunday morning shortly before take-off after the UK person was found to be infected by the coronavirus. Later, he said the flight took off with 270 passengers.
“Runway was made available for departure for this delayed flight as there was no normal operation from 10.00am to 6.00pm due to the ongoing resurfacing project which will be completed only March 28,” the spokesperson informed.
In a separate development Sunday, the Kerala government launched intensified medical checkup at border areas for people entering the state by rail and road.
The government has identified 24 spots in border areas that Kerala share with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and multiple teams each headed by a DSP began the checking of vehicles coming into the state.
Agencies