Dubai-bound flight offloaded in Kochi, India, after British tourist tests positive for coronavirus

A group of foreign tourists including a coronavirus positive British national was stopped from flying to Dubai at Cochin airport on Sunday, the officials said.

The patient arrived in Kerala on March 2 and reached Munnar on March 7. But on March 10 he developed symptoms of coronavirus and was asked to remain under observation at a state-owned resort. Since then he was in the observation camp.

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This particular group was asked to remain in isolation as the second test result of one of them was awaited.

But the entire group broke all the protocols and headed for Cochin airport on Sunday.

Passengers wear face masks amid concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus in Kochi. File photo

At the airport they went through the immigration and boarded the aircraft to Dubai.

But as soon as the authorities got wind that there was a coronavirus affected person among the passengers, they asked all the 270 passengers to evacuate the aircraft and go through the health checkup.

They all have been moved to the hospitals.

Local legislator P.T. Thomas expressed dismay on what has happened and the local authorities at Idukki and Kochi are now probing on how this goof-up occurred.

Indo-Asian News Service