UK national bound for Dubai tests positive for coronavirus,stopped along with 19 others at Kochi air
Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram: A UK national tested positive for coronavirus in Kerala on Sunday 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 while the 17 were sent to a hotel for quarantine after being offloaded from the flight, Kerala Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar told reporters at the airport.
Another passenger, a Keralite also booked on the Emirates flight scheduled for departure at 9.20 am, voluntarily opted not to travel and has been advised home quarantine, officials said.
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 the state, officials said.
Talking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, state Health Minister K K 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 resorts," she said.
The health officials have started tracing those who came into contact with the tourists in Kerala, she added.
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.
He, however, left for Kochi without informing the authorities to board the flight to Dubai and was traced at the Cochin International Airport.
There is 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, Minister Sunil Kumar said.
Idukki District Collector H Dineshan said the resort authorities did not follow the directions issued by the state government with regard to the tourists lodged there.
"The tourists were under surveillance from March 11 in the resort itself. However, they left without informing us.
The staff of the resort, including the manager, is put under quarantine," he told.
Earlier, the spokesman of the airport said at least 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 am to 6 pm due to the ongoing resurfacing project which will be completed only on March 28," he said.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
