The district administration has arranged 219 buildings as COVID-19 care centres across Malappuram with the objective of housing returning expatriates in quarantine. The buildings include hotels and tourist homes near the Karipur airport.
Minister for Higher Education K.T. Jaleel said here on Thursday that the government was duty-bound to ensure good healthcare for the expatriates returning home.
The returnees will be subjected to a thorough health check-up outside the airport, and those showing disease symptoms will be shifted to Government Medical College Hospital either at Kozhikode or at Manjeri.
The others will be shifted to the special COVID-19 care centres. Those from other districts will be sent to their respective districts in KSRTC buses. A handful of people from Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha districts would be given taxi facilities, said Mr. Jaleel.
85 to go home
Mr. Jaleel said 85 out of the 189 passengers reaching Karipur would be allowed to go home and enter into self-quarantine. Fifty-one of them were returning for emergency medical needs and 19 were pregnant women. There were seven children below 10 years of age and six elderly people. There were two people with their test reports having proved negative for COVID-19.
Out of the 189 passengers, 85 were from Malappuram. Among them were 14 on medical emergencies, two pregnant women, three children below age 10, and four above 75 years of age. “These 23 people will be sent home directly. They will have to remain in self-quarantine for two weeks,” said Mr. Jaleel.
The remaining 52 people, if they do not have any health issues, will be shifted to Safa Hospital COVID-19 care centre at Kalikavu. As many as 100 bath-attached rooms have been readied at this COVID care centre for isolating the returning expatriates. The Minister said that KSRTC buses would be used to shift the passengers to the care centre.
They will have to remain in COVID-19 care centre for seven days. If their tests after seven days are negative, then they will be allowed to go home. However, they will have to remain in home quarantine for another week.
In the flight reaching Kochi from Abu Dhabi, there were 23 people from Malappuram. Mr. Jaleel said five of them would be allowed to go home and enter into self-quarantine.
The remaining 18 passengers will be brought to the International Students Hostel on Calicut University campus for quarantine.
