Even when COVID-19 cases are spiking in Kerala, the Air India announced that people who want to visit the southern state and have received both the shots of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine, are no longer required to undergo an RT-PCR test. The announcement was made by the national carrier on Twitter.
In its tweet with "Important update for Domestic Passengers" message, Air India said that no RT-PCR test report is required for those who are fully vaccinated. "Fully vaccinated passengers are required to carry valid vaccination certificate for both doses," the tweet further said.
Kerala is reporting a huge number of daily Covid-19 cases. On Sunday, the southern state reported 26,701 new Covid-19 cases and 74 deaths in a 24-hour span.
As per the office of Kerala health minister, the total death toll in the state reached 21,496 and the active caseload stands at 2,47,791.
As many as 28,900 patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking cumulative recoveries to 39,37,996, the health department said. It added that 1,55,543 samples were tested between Saturday and Sunday with a test positivity rate of 17.17 per cent.
Meanwhile, already reeling under a massive Covid surge, the arrival of Nipah, after a 12-year-old boy succumbed to the virus attack, Kerala's famed health status -- of being the best in the country -- appears to have gone for a toss.
With the news surfacing that Nipah has returned after 2018 when 17 people lost their lives, new State Health Minister Veena George made a dash to Kozhikode to coordinate the work to contain any further spread of Nipah.
In 2018, various tests revealed that 25 per cent of the bats is the primary source of the infection at Perambara in Kozhikode district, which had the Nipah virus.
