Covid-19 positive Briton, group stopped at Kochi airport from flying to Dubai

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Dubai - They have all been moved to the hospitals.

By Nandini Sircar

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Published: Sun 15 Mar 2020, 9:36 AM

Last updated: Mon 16 Mar 2020, 12:38 AM

A group of foreign tourists, including a British national who tested positive for Covid-19, was stopped from flying to Dubai at Cochin airport on Sunday. The group was caught minutes before the aircraft took off. As a precautionary measure, the 270 passengers and crew on board were deplaned.
After a health check-up, the rest of the passengers boarded the flight, which took off after a three-hour delay.
According to Indian news agency IANS, the Briton had arrived in Kerala on March 2 and reached Munnar on March 7. However, on March 10 he developed symptoms of Covid-19 and was asked to remain under observation at a state-owned resort. Since then he was in the observation camp. The group was asked to remain in isolation as the second test result of one of them was awaited. But the entire group sneaked out and went to Cochin airport.
The rest of the passengers who arrived in Dubai Sunday afternoon at 3.08pm, told Khaleej Times that they had a delay of three hours.
"We were held up in the flight from Kochi to Dubai for three hours. A group of around 20 people were asked to de-board. We kept waiting in the plane," Nikita Jacob, who was onboard the flight, told Khaleej Times upon her arrival in Dubai. Another passenger, Thomas, reiterated similar sentiments. "We didn't exactly know what was happening, people were getting restless in the aircraft. Some people were asked to get off from the plane. But thankfully, here, we didn't have to wait for long, we just walked out smoothly."
nandini@khaleejtimes.com


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