COVID-19: These tourists seem happy to stay back in Kerala

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced quite a lot of tourists to stay put wherever they have been in India out of deference to the lockdown and the ensuing strictures from the government.

All of them are under mandatory quarantine and are observing all the regulations put up by the health department. Quite a handful of foreign tourists have decided to stay back in Kerala and weather the scourge.

Here's Pierre, an engineer from France and wife Marine Sendriya on why they decided to stay back instead of leaving for their native land.

The couple came under the corona radar on March 16 while travelling around Kerala. On reaching the Government hospital in Pala where they were taken to, they realized they had for company a few other foreigners. David Ruiz Martinez and Leah Mathas e Weela, both from Spain had landed in the hospital the previous day. Though their test results turned up negative, they were advised quarantine as a measure of enhanced protection.

As the tourists expressed their hesitation to stay quarantined in hospital, the district administration intervened and made arrangements for the couples to stay in confinement in a special place in Kottayam.

The tourists expressed their gratitude to the government and the Health Department for the excellent food and medical attention they were provided.

The French and Spanish embassies are now in constant touch with their respective citizens.

"My friends thought we were going through an ordeal. But we have told them that we are so much safer here. We never realized how grave the situation was. We now know the enormity of the disease. So our advice to everyone is to stay put wherever they are and observe all Government directives," says Pierre.

(Courtesy of District Information Office, Kottayam)