A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday observed that the Central government would consider the request of the State government to conduct reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for expatriates before allowing them to board flights to the country.
The Bench comprising Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice M.R. Anitha, while closing a public interest litigation in this regard, observed that it had no doubt that proper procedures would be put in place and revised in a time-bound manner by the Central government after considering the situation prevalent and taking note of the requests made by individual States, besides expert medical advice and the available relevant data.
The court said the Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) had apparently been framed after proper application of mind and due consultation with medical experts. The concerns expressed by the State government would be considered by the Central government while formulating and revising the SOP in respect of the required testing.
Petitioner C.R. Neelakandan of Kochi contended that lack of proper testing before allowing expatriates to board flights was a serious danger, because if asymptomatic passengers were permitted to board after an inconclusive temperature test alone, there would be every possibility of the virus being transmitted to other passengers during travel.
