20 passengers of a Dubai-bound Emirates flight were offloaded at the Kochi airport in Kerala on Sunday shortly before takeoff after a British national among them tested positive for novel coronavirus that has killed over 5,000 people worldwide and infected over 1.3 lakh, Kochi airport officials said.

The man had boarded the flight along with a group of 19 others who were holidaying in the hill station of Munnar in Kerala and was under surveillance, a Cochin International Airport Limited spokesman said.

He allegedly did not inform informing authorities in Munnar while leaving the hotel where he was under quarantine and reached Kochi airport. The 19 others too are foreign nationals, according to airport officials.He was tracked down to the airport by health officials after his test results showed that he was coronavirus-positive, Kochi airport authorities said.Sources have said that while he was under isolation, the results came on Sunday, testing him positive for coronavirus.
NDTV