NE NEWS SERVICE
KOCHI, MARCH 15
270 passengers of a Dubai-bound Emirates flight were offloaded at the Kochi airport in Kerala on Saturday shortly before takeoff after a British national among them tested positive for novel coronavirus, airport officials said. Health officials in Kerala, however, are yet to confirm the latest case.
All the passengers are being taken to hospital for screenings and medical check-ups.
The passenger belonged to a group of 19 holidaying in the hill resort town of Munnar in Kerala and was under surveillance, a Cochin International Airport Limited spokesman said.
The man allegedly did not inform informing authorities in Munnar while leaving the quarantine facility and joined the rest of the group at Kochi airport.
He was tracked down to the airport by health officials after his test results showed that he was coronavirus-positive, Kochi airport authorities said.
Firstly, it was decided to offload all 19 passengers of his group, he said.
“Now, it is decided to offload the remaining 270 passengers also and send them to hospital for further investigation”, the spokesperson added.
