Panic and chaos erupted at the Cochin International Airport after a coronavirus positive patient boarded a Dubai-bound flight on Sunday, airport officials said. Following the detection of the infected man, all the 270 passengers were immediately deplaned along with 19 others who accompanied him. The patient is reportedly a British national who fled from the isolation facility in Munnar.
The UK national and the 19 other members of his group were under observation at a hotel in Munnar, Kerala since he was suspected to have contracted the virus. They were asked by the health officials not to leave the hotel unless told to do so. However, the man and his group checked out of the hotel and went to the Cochin International Airport. His results came positive and when health officials didn't find him at the hotel, they suspected he had gone to the airport.
According to reports, the health officials left the hotel at around 10:30 PM Saturday night and the group left after that. It is being said that their travel agent also helped them escape the hotel. Authorities have now ordered a probe as to how they were allowed to leave the hotel despite their results were awaited and he was sick.
Following the incident, all the 270 passengers of the Emirates plane will now be tested for the coronavirus as a precautionary measure. Kerala has the second-highest number of infected people in India. In fact, the first three coronavirus cases were reported from Kerala.
7,677 people under observation in Kerala: CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had Saturday said that as many as 7,677 people who came in contact with the infected were under observation in the state. "A total of 7,677 people are under observation in the state, out of which 7,375 people are under home quarantine and 302 are in isolation wards across the state," he said.
The chief minister added that the state government has sent 1,897 samples for testing, of which, 1,345 tested negative while the results of the remaining were yet to come. The state government has banned the entry of visitors in malls, clubs and gyms and advised people to stay at home. So far, Kerala has 22 positive cases of coronavirus, second-most from a single state in India after Maharashtra where 31 people are infected.
Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus infected people in India rose to 107, according to the Health Ministery's website. So far, the country has reported two deaths from the virus. Another death of a 71-year-old man in Maharashtra, who returned from Saudi Arabia, is being probed as he was suspected to have coronavirus infection.
