With the State on high alert in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, foreign tourists visiting God’s Own Country are finding it difficult to get accommodation and move around, prompting the government to disapprove of such acts and asking people not to see every foreigner as a SARS-nCoV2 carrier.
Amid the stepped-up preventive measures, several cases of foreigners being ‘denied’ travel in public transport systems and stay in hotels have been reported in the past few days from various parts of the State.
Cautioning against such acts, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran described overseas visitors as “our friends” and “guests” and called for a change of mindset of some people who allegedly treated them as carriers of the virus.
On Sunday, authorities were forced to shift two foreign nationals to a quarantine facility at a government hospital in nearby Pala after their co-passengers in a State-owned transport corporation bus raised an alarm.
The two from Spain were travelling in the bus when the police stopped it at Kuravilangad after co-passengers said they could not travel with them due to the virus threat. Though the two were advised to remain in quarantine for 14 days, they were allegedly denied stay in a hotel or lodge in the area.
A foreign tourist visiting the scenic Wagamon hill station bordering Kottayam and Idukki district allegedly slept in the cemetery of a church after he was denied lodging facility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
People visiting the church for attending the Sunday morning mass reportedly saw the tourist coming out of the cemetery. However, he could not be traced despite a search being launched, the police said.
