The Kerala government on Thursdayinformed the High Court that 1.35 lakh rooms with attached toilets are available for quarantining the Keralites returning from foreign countries due to COVID-19 pandemic.It also submitted that Kerala State Disaster Management Authority with the help of Tourism Department and Public Works Department has prepared a list of infrastructure that could be used for temporary accommodation of the affected."An amount of Rs 13.45 crore has been provided from State Disaster Response Fund till date since April 1, 2020 to the District Disaster Management Authorities for the purpose as laid by the Union Home Ministry vide a letter dated March 28, this year," the government said in a statement submitted before the High Court.The statement was submitted in response to petitions related to the problems of the expatriates, who are presently outside India, and are unable to come back on account of the lockdown announced by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.The state government said about 1.35 lakh rooms with attached toilets is readily available to accommodate the expatriates for purpose of quarantining.In addition to this, about 9,000 rooms in hotels and resorts have been identified for the purpose of housing those NRIs who wished to stay in these places at their own cost, it said.The government said the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited has in its possession about 40,000 RT-PCR test kits to conduct tests.
