Coronavirus: TN couple who returned from Bengaluru booked for not cooperating with health officials

TRICHY: A case was registered against a couple, who landed at Trichy airport from Bengaluru on Thursday, for not cooperating with Tamil Nadu health department officials who wanted to quarantine them and test them for Covid-19 .

The couple was identified as S Mugunda Raj, 34, and his wife Suhasini, 34, of Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district.

A team of officials led by Trichy collector S Sivarasu made all arrangements at the airport to test passengers. According to the norms set by the government, all passengers should quarantine themselves either at a government facility or any hotel they choose till the results of the Covid-19 test come.

However, Mugunda and Suhasini refused to do so. Of the 71 passengers who arrived here in the flight, 69 passengers’ swab samples were collected. The couple denied coming out of the airport lounge as they were not willing to submit their samples.

Though the officials held talks with the couple and asked them to get tested, they denied and refused to quarantine themselves in a government institution or hotel.

Officials then lodged a complaint with the airport police. Following this, police officials brought the couple from the lounge and tested them. They were later released. Officials allowed the couple to home quarantine themselves for 14 days.

The airport police registered a case against them on charges of deterring public servants from discharging their duties under the IPC and under sections of the Tamil Nadu Public Health (TNPH) Act, the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Disaster Management Act.