Thiruvananthapuram, June 13: The Kerala government on Saturday announced that from June 20 onwards all private chartered flights from the Middle East should only ferry passengers who have been tested negative for coronavirus.  Passengers boarding these flights should also carry test certificate with them. Kerala Principal Secretary said that the order applied to all flights for which consent letters were issued earlier. Doubling Time of Coronavirus Cases in India Improves to 17.4 Days: Health Ministry.

The order was issued by the Kerala government amid rising coronavirus cases in the state. COVID-19 cases in the state have risen drastically after the Centre launched Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indian stranded abroad due to the outbreak of the virus. Till now, 2,322 people have contracted COVID-19 in the state.

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Currently, there are 1,303 active in the state, while 1,000 patients have recovered from the disease. Nineteen people also lost their lives due to the virus. According to reports, over More than 1.25 lakh non-resident Keralites are expected to land in the state next couple of weeks under Vande Bharat Mission.

Meanwhile, coronavirus tally in India crossed three-lakh-mark. The country reported the highest single-day spike of 11,458 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. According to the data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 3,08,993 people have contracted coronavirus till now. Currently, there are 1,45,779 active COVID-19 cases in the country, while 1,54,330 people have already recovered from the disease. The death toll also rose to 8,884.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2020 02:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).