MUSCAT: Stranded Indian passengers travelling from Oman to Kerala will have to conduct Covid-19 test before boarding any flights from June 20, a top Indian Embassy official informed The Arabian Stories on Wednesday.

The decision comes following a letter written by Dr. Vishwas Mehta, Kerala Government’s Chief Secretary to Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary at Ministry of External Affairs, said passengers boarding flights to Kerala from any overseas country must do a “PCR / Trunet Covid/ Antibody test to identify the COVID positive cases and to bring in only those who are tested COVID negative. They should carry their test report with them for verification,” Mehta said in his letter.

Speaking to The Arabian Stories, the embassy official confirmed that the directive from the Kerala Government will be applied from June 20 onwards. “We have already informed Air India (Vande Bharat Mission flights) and other social organisations who are running charter flights to ensure passengers carry a Covid negative certificate,” he said.

It is found that close to 2% of the overseas returnees to Kerala are found to be COVID-19 positive and is under treatment. The rate of infection in some countries is as high as 5%. “This implies that, even the COVID negative persons when travelled along with the infected persons, have been exposed to the infection and have become ‘high risk contacts’. This has posed serious problems to the Government as many of the returnees could be asymptomatic carriers and potentially infecting people around them. If this is not addressed, there could be a surge of infection, leading to serious consequences to the people of Kerala,” Vishwas wrote in his letter.

Kerala also said those who tested positive for COVID-19 infection are to be brought in designated flights, “under due notice to Government of Kerala for proper management during the travel, at the airport and thereafter for quarantining and treatments,” Vishwas added.