A special passenger flight arranged by the Oman government will evacuate the Oman nationals stuck in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes 53 people who have been stuck in Kerala and 37 people in Tamil Nadu, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Oman nationals who are in Kochi had come to Kerala for various Ayurvedic and Allopathic treatments. Most of them had reached Kerala on March 3 and have been stuck in the state following the imposition of the nationwide lockdown. But they have now completed their treatment for what they came for and have also undergone the quarantine mandated by the state government.
Oman Air, the national airline of the country, will arrive directly from Muscat and reach Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) at 2 pm on April 3 (Friday). The flight will take off at 2.50 pm to Bengaluru and then to Chennai to pick up Oman citizens from the cities, and then will take off to Muscat.
According to a statement by CIAL, COVID-19 preventive protocol will be strictly enforced during the transportation of the Oman nationals to the airport.
"A joint meeting of all stakeholders was convened at CIAL and instructions were given to observe strict COVID-19 protocols when dealing with the passengers. Oman Embassy in India will oversee the passenger transition. All of them will arrive in separate cars around 12 pm (on Friday) and undergo mandatory check in processes and will be directed to the flight," reads the statement.
Provisions have been made to disinfect the baggage of the passengers and to distribute hand sanitisers to them.
As of Thursday, after Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, Kerala stands fourth in the number of COVID-19 positive cases reported with 286 in total being tested for the pandemic. Maharashtra has the highest cases in the country as of Thursday, with 423 being positive.
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