10 locals involved in Kozhikode air crash rescue test positive for Covid-19

Ten people who helped rescue passengers from an Air India Express flight from Dubai that crashed at the Kozhikode international airport on August 7 tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday when Kerala saw the highest single-day spike of 1,758 new cases, officials said.

Around 80 of the locals who took part in the rescue operations, were already under quarantine after some of the injured passengers tested positive for Covid-19. Last week the Malappuram district collector, police superintendent and 23 senior officials tested positive for the virus. Later, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and seven of his cabinet colleagues had gone into quarantine because they interacted closely with district officials during their visit to the crash site.