This story is from May 23, 2020

14-day quarantine for domestic flyers too in state: Kerala govt

Those coming to the state by domestic flights will also have to undergo 14 days' quarantine as per the lockdown guidelines, the state government said on Friday.
14-day quarantine for domestic flyers too in state: Kerala govt
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Those coming to the state by domestic flights will also have to undergo 14 days' quarantine as per the lockdown guidelines, the state government said on Friday.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, however, said people coming for business needs could be exempted from this.
"We cannot demand 14 days' quarantine for those coming for business meetings for a day or two. They will be given advisories on precautions they have to follow while in the state," he said.
While announcing the resumption of flight operations in the domestic sector from May 25 on Thursday, Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri had indicated that the ministry was not in favour of quarantining passengers on short-haul flights.

Health minister K K Shailaja said the state had so far been insisting on quarantine for all those coming from other states. "How can a passenger coming by flight from Chennai be different from a person coming from the same place in a train or by road? We have to treat them the same way," she said.
Can’t take any risk: Minister
They are coming from red zones and we have to send them for the mandatory 14-day quarantine. We cannot take any risk in this matter. We are getting more cases now from those coming from other states, and those coming by domestic flights should follow the same procedures," she said.

According to the state government decision, people coming by domestic flights will also be screened at airports like those coming from abroad. Asymptomatic persons will be allowed to undergo room quarantine in their homes while symptomatic passengers will be immediately shifted to hospitals. These passengers can also utilise the paid quarantine facility.
Shailaja said the state could not let things go out of hand by not screening the domestic flyers. "We won't be able to identify virus carriers in a flight. All passengers in a flight will come under the high-risk category if there is one carrier. We cannot allow them to move around in the community,'' she said.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA