Published 12:41 IST, April 19th 2020
Kerala to bring back 2 lakh expatriates from West Asia post lockdown
Kerala is reportedly facing a huge challenge since over half of the total COVID-19 cases in state have been traced to those who had returned from the region.
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With Kerala being the only state reporting more recovered COVID-19 cases than infected ones with each passing day, the state government has now announced that it is preparing for the return of around two lakh expatriates, mainly blue-collar workers, from West Asia after the ongoing nationwide lockdown. Around 20 lakh people from Kerala work in blue-collar jobs in the mining and oil industry in West Asian countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Officials have reportedly said that after bringing them back, the state will face a huge challenge since over half of the total COVID-19 cases in Kerala have been traced to those who had returned from the region.
The United Arab Emirates, in a recent statement, announced that they were considering to impose restrictions on nations that have refused to call their citizens back who wish to return to their home countries amid the novel Coronavirus outbreak
Expats to return after May 3
Keeping the welfare of its workers in mind, Kerala has now created quarantine facilities for Indian expatriates who are said to return back to the state in batches after the extended lockdown which will be lifted on May 3. Officials assured that they would only be allowed to return home if after being kept under quarantine for a significant amount of time.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to provide relief amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the Kerala government has divided the state into four zones to lift lockdown restrictions in a staggered manner. These zones are namely — Red, Orange A, Orange B and Green. Currently, a total of 399 cases have been identified in Kerala, out of which 255 have been reported to have recovered, while two people have been reported to have died.
12:41 IST, April 19th 2020