'Green' status on the Ehteraz application is good enough for people from Kerala to return to the southern Indian state from Qatar and they do not have to undergo any Covid-19 test for entry, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
According to an IANS report, Vijayan Wednesday said members of the Kerala diaspora who wish to travel to the state either on Vande Bharat Mission or chartered flights will have to undergo a Covid-19 test.
"We have been saying this for long to the Centre and it's their responsibility to see that adequate testing arrangements are made through the Indian embassies in various countries. We do not want anyone who does not have this disease to get it and hence all those coming to Kerala from abroad have to undergo a Covid test before they start their travel," said Vijayan.
However, for Qatar he suggested that showing the 'Green' status on Ehteraz would do. "In Qatar, the rule is that all those who move out in public places will have an app, with a 'Green' status, so in that country, our people will have no issues," he said.
Reading out statistics, Vijayan said 1.5% of those coming from abroad are turning Covid-19-positive and now around 200,000 members of the Kerala diaspora have registered to return.
Meanwhile, a letter from Kerala chief secretary Vishwas Mehta to Sanjay Bhattacharyya, secretary (Consular, Passport and Visa Division & Overseas Indian Affairs) at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, also stresses that in the case of Qatar, the 'Green' status on Ehteraz is treated as equivalent to Covid-19 negative status, and those exhibiting the 'Green' status alone are allowed to board a flight.
The Vande Bharat repatriation mission continues from Qatar Thursday with flights scheduled for Kozhikode, Kochi and Bhubaneswar (with a technical halt in Delhi).
In a related matter, the embassy said it has "been receiving many calls" from people that they have lost their 'EOID' registration numbers and cannot find them. "The following link available on our website can help you find your EOID number using your passport number: https://indianembassyqatar.gov.in/Check_repatriation_information," the embassy tweeted.

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