Thiruvananthapuram: Tourists who head to Kerala these days are a piqued lot as the popular destination battles the highly infectious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Overseas tourists are finding it difficult to get accommodation and facing cold and even antagonistic reception from the people in the host state famed on the tourist circuit globally as God's Own Country.
Harrowing tales of foreigners being stranded are emerging from some parts of Kerala. The other day a Spanish couple were asked to leave a bus even as a confirmed COVID-19 case was deplaned from a Dubai-bound flight at the Kochi airport.
A woman tourist from Argentina, was left stranded on the road at night, after she was denied accommodation in Thiruvananthapuram. Disheartened by the indifferent attitude of the people, Maria wept by the roadside. Still none sought to help her. It was the police, who finally came to her rescue.
Maria, who had arrived from Delhi, had booked a room at a hotel located at the Medical College Junction. However, the staff denied her accommodation over the current scare over COVID-19. She then proceeded to Thambanoor, a few kilometres away, and hunted for a room at several other hotels in the heart of the city, but none were ready to give accommodation. When she approached the local people for help, most of them covered their face and avoided her. Tired and distressed, Maria stood near the University Library at Palayam when the Pink Police and Cantonment cops came to her help.
The cops explained to her about the precautionary measures taken in the wake of the viral infection. An ambulance was summoned and she was taken to the general hospital. The police said that she would be provided accommodation after confirming that she was not infected.
Spanish couple moved to hospital
Meanwhile, a Spanish couple, who were on their way to Munnar on the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) super-fast bus, were shifted to the Pala hospital in Kottayam. Other passengers in the bus became apprehensive after they noticed foreigners amid them.
As per the instructions of Kottayam district police chief G Jayadev, the cops stopped the bus at Kuruvilangad and handed the couple over to the healthcare personnel. Though the couple, David and Laya, did not have any symptoms, the health department asked them to be home quarantined for 28 days. After the police pointed out that it was difficult to find accommodation, the couple agreed to move to the Pala general hospital.
Graveyard to rest
A foreign national, who reached Vagamon in Kottayam district on Saturday, could not find any accommodation and had to reportedly spend the night at a graveyard. After the police got wind of it, a bid to track him down was made but he couldn't be traced. Those who went to the Church around 6:30am on Sunday, noticed a person coming out of the graveyard of the Church of Christ on the Vagamon-Pullikkanam Road. They informed the police, but just before the cops arrived, the foreigner left in a bus.
Another French citizen was moved to the isolation ward of the Idukki Medical College Hospital from Vagamon. Seven Belgium nationals were also sent back. They were allowed to return after they underwent the health department's medical checks.
Starving ones too!
Two foreign nationals were in a miserable state after they were found wandering for three days in Kannur without any food or accommodation. They were literally in tears when the police, Payyannur municipal and taluk hospital authorities finally came to their aid.
Saleena from France and Maura from Italy reached Kannur on March 11. However, they could not find accommodation at any hotel or lodge. They reached Payyannur by Saturday evening.
The police took them to the taluk hospital. Municipal chairperson Shashi Vattakoval and health permanent council chief M Sanjeevan too reached the hospital. After the foreigners informed that they had not eaten for three days, the duty doctor ordered food for them first. They were then shifted to the Thalassery hospital. Both of them do not have any symptoms of coronavirus (CoV). They had been to Mumbai, Goa and Madurai before reaching Kerala.
5,150 foreign tourists
Currently, 5,150 foreign tourists are an estimated to be in Kerala.
Travel details of foreigners, staying at home-stays and hotels, should be given to the district administration by the managements. Those foreigners, who underwent COVID-19 tests, will be given permission to continue their travel only after the test results turn negative.
The chief minister has also instructed that accurate details of foreigners reaching Kerala need to be collected by the state police and handed over to the district administration.