KASARAGOD: The coronavirus negative certificate, insisted upon by Kerala government from expatriates returning to the state, has been deemed 'senseless' and 'useless' by Malayalis waiting to board their flights from UK.
As many as 447 Malayalis are flying back to Kerala via Vande Bharat Mission flights from London's Heathrow Airport to Kochi on June 24, 27 and 30, said Anoop Sasidharan, who works in the retail industry in Bristol and runs a WhatsApp group disseminating travel information to Malayalis in the UK.
"Luckily, the High Commission in London has not yet issued any directive to Keralites to get a Covid negative certificate," said Sasidharan, a native of Aluva.
But several UK residents said the covid negative certificate will be a "useless piece of paper" as soon as one enters the flight.
"The Vande Bharat flight to Kochi taking off on Wednesday has a stopover in Delhi and the Government of Delhi has not insisted on such a certificate," said Anil Kumar (name changed on request), a 32-year-old medical doctor in Coventry and native of Thrissur.
He is flying back with his 60-year-old mother from London on Wednesday.
The flight with 243 seats has 90 passengers to Delhi and 149 passengers to Kochi. "So even if 149 Malayali passengers have Covid negative certificates, they will come in contact with the 90 passengers to Delhi rendering the certificate a useless piece of paper," said Dr Kumar.
The flight from Heathrow on June 27 has stopovers in Delhi and Mumbai, and the flight on June 30 has a stopover in Delhi before touching down in Kochi.
Around 149 Malayalis are returning on the three days.
Unlike from West Asian countries, there are no direct flights from Europe and the US to Kerala even during non-Covid days, said Sanjay Menon, another passenger waiting to return to Kerala.
In the UK, coronavirus testing preference is given to those with symptoms and those working in key sectors such as healthcare.
"But 60% of those waiting to return are students. They will have to lie that they have symptoms or are from key sectors to get themselves tested. But that will be an injustice to genuine patients waiting to be tested," he said.
The rapid test, which the Kerala government is recommending, is not foolproof. "It will only test for antibodies. If a patient is in the early stage of infection, there may not be any antibody, and secondly, even after a person recovers from Covid-19, he may still have the antibodies," he said.
"...Every passenger landing in Kerala is assumed to be positive and sent into quarantine for 14 days. It is not that if I have a Covid negative certificate I will be allowed to mingle with the local population," he added.
"My mother is 60 years old. We have been staying here adhering to all the regulations put out by the NHS (National Health Service). By going to the hospital for the certificate, I will be exposing my mother to the virus. I am just 32 years old. The people advising the government are experienced and know all these things. So I am surprised by this decision," Dr Kumar concluded.