Dubai: Seventy five pregnant women left Dubai for Kochi on one single flight on Saturday, as the second phase of coronavirus repatriation flights got underway.
Tweets from the Consul General of India’s Office in Dubai confirmed that the 12.45pm flight to Kochi was “very different” as it carries “181 passengers including 75 pregnant women on board, with doctors and nurses to assist, if needed.”
Saturday’s other flight from Abu Dhabi to Trivandrum also carried “63 persons with medical emergencies, 18 pregnant women, 87 persons who lost their jobs and nine stranded tourists.”
Eleven Air India Express flights are planned to depart Dubai for India in the second phase of the Vande Bharat (Hail India) Mission, which got underway on Saturday and will last until May 23, earlier tweets had stated.
Statistics from the first phase of repatriation flights from Dubai to India, which ran from May 7-14, were also announced by the consulate on Friday.
In the tweets the Consul General’s office confirmed that the first phase of the mission had been “eminently successful” with 11 flights and 2,079 passengers transported from Dubai to India.
Of these 2,079 passengers, 760 were workers, 438 were stranded tourists and students, 398 were medical emergency cases, 190 were pregnant women, 126 were senior citizens and 167 were classed as ‘others’.
According to health protocols, all arriving passengers will be undergoing a health check up.
Those with symptoms will be taken to hospital and the remaining will be sent home to begin quarantine.
State Health Minister for Kerala, KK Shailaja said nothing should be taken lightly by those returning.
“All of them are our own people and they will have to return to their homes,” she said. “This is going to be a crucial phase and hence everyone has to be more cautious and alert to see that nothing is taken lightly.
“There will be more number of people who will have to be under observation and it’s very important that all follow the guidelines, if not, things will go out of hand.”
42 from Dubai quarantine in Gautam Budh Nagar
Elsewhere, all the 42 people who came from Dubai in an Air India flight on May 14 have been quarantined in Gautam Budh Nagar, IANS reported.
Air India flight number AI-1996 reached New Delhi with 42 diaspora from Dubai. All 42 NRIs were tested for COVID-19 under the protocol. After the test, all the passengers have been quarantined at Hotel Golf View in Sector-37, Noida.
District Magistrate Suhas L.Y. said that out of these 42 people, 13 belong to Gautam Budh Nagar, 1 to Aligarh, 9 to Rampur, 4 to Saharanpur, 3 to Moradabad, 4 to Meerut, 1 to Bijnor, 1 to Hapur, 1 to Gorakhpur and 2 to Delhi.
A total of 242 coronavirus infected cases have been reported so far in the district out of which four patients have died, while a total of 169 have been discharged from the hospital, and 69 are being treated in the hospital.
