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Santosh Chandran
Doha
Qatar's COVID-19 contact-tracing app Ehteraz has made life easier for Keralites wishing to go back home from the country.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday announced that consent for a private chartered flight to Kerala will be given only if passengers travelling on it are certified COVID-19 negative. However, an exemption has been made for expatriates and visitors in Qatar, thanks to Ehteraz.
Vijayan said a COVID-19 negative test report is not required for people in Qatar to board flights to Kerala but a green status on the Ehteraz app would do. People with such a status would be treated as COVID-19 negative, he said while addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram.
The chief minister said Indian Ambassador to Qatar HE P Kumaran had sent a letter, explaining the functioning of the app.
Currently, a COVID-19 negative certificate is a pre-requisite for anyone boarding chartered flights to India, but not for flights being operated under India’s repatriation effort called the Vande Bharat Mission. However, Kerala has been demanding COVID-19 screening for all travellers, including those being repatriated.
Bringing infected and non-infected people together on a flight increases the risk of transmission, the Kerala chief minister reiterated at the press conference on Wednesday.
Qatar Director for Department of Non Resident Keralites Affairs CV Rappai said the green status on Ehteraz app would be considered an authentic medical document to travel to Kerala.
As of June 16, 34 repatriation flights have left Qatar under the Vande Bharat Mission to various parts of India, bringing the total repatriated Indians to 5,792 adults and 170 infants. Around 5,000 more people left for India in about 27 private chartered flights.
Doha
Qatar's COVID-19 contact-tracing app Ehteraz has made life easier for Keralites wishing to go back home from the country.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday announced that consent for a private chartered flight to Kerala will be given only if passengers travelling on it are certified COVID-19 negative. However, an exemption has been made for expatriates and visitors in Qatar, thanks to Ehteraz.
Vijayan said a COVID-19 negative test report is not required for people in Qatar to board flights to Kerala but a green status on the Ehteraz app would do. People with such a status would be treated as COVID-19 negative, he said while addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram.
The chief minister said Indian Ambassador to Qatar HE P Kumaran had sent a letter, explaining the functioning of the app.
Currently, a COVID-19 negative certificate is a pre-requisite for anyone boarding chartered flights to India, but not for flights being operated under India’s repatriation effort called the Vande Bharat Mission. However, Kerala has been demanding COVID-19 screening for all travellers, including those being repatriated.
Bringing infected and non-infected people together on a flight increases the risk of transmission, the Kerala chief minister reiterated at the press conference on Wednesday.
Qatar Director for Department of Non Resident Keralites Affairs CV Rappai said the green status on Ehteraz app would be considered an authentic medical document to travel to Kerala.
As of June 16, 34 repatriation flights have left Qatar under the Vande Bharat Mission to various parts of India, bringing the total repatriated Indians to 5,792 adults and 170 infants. Around 5,000 more people left for India in about 27 private chartered flights.
