Kochi: A COVID-infected woman pilot with Air India Express has been discharged from a Kochi hospital after recovery.
Captain Bindu Sebastian, who was part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded abroad, was admitted to the Ernakulam Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery, after she tested positive for coronavirus infection on May 31.
She was discharged on Sunday as her two consecutive sample tests returned negative.
Sebastian thanked the medical college for providing her with the best treatment and care, according to a press statement issued by the Kerala health minister's office.
“Even those with mild symptoms must seek treatment,” Sebastian, who hails from Thevara in Kochi, urged the public as she left the hospital.
'Continue repatriation'
The pilot said she would continue to be a part of the mission to bring back expatriates stranded in foreign countries during the pandemic crisis. Sebastian was part of the mission to bring back Indians from the UAE.
Health Minister K K Shailaja congratulated Sebastian on her recovery and lauded the efforts of the airlines staff to bring back the expatriates.
She said the state was proud of the airline staff including Bindu Sebastian who took part in the repatriation mission. “The safety of the flight crew is as important as bringing back the stranded expatriates. The flight crew members from Kerala are given the best training to prevent COVID-19. They have to follow the guidelines from the health department strictly,” the minister said.
Quarantine row
A row had erupted following reports that Sebastian violated the quarantine rules.
She had to face some trouble after the route-map issued by the Kochi police commissionerate after she tested positive publicised her name and address along with phone numbers of her colleagues.
The Air India Express as well as the police later clarified that the pilot did not violate the quarantine rules. The police have launched a probe into the leaking of the private data of the airline's crew.
As per the standard operating procedure, flight crew members do not have to go into quarantine for a specific number of days. This is because they are supposed to test for the virus infection before and after a flight.
Sebastian, who landed in Kochi on May 26, went straight to the medical college for taking her samples for the tests.
Then she went to the hotel where the flight crew stayed. She left the hotel after the health department informed her that the test result was negative at 6.30 pm on May 28.
She went to the medical college again on May 30 for conducting tests prior to the next flight. She was tested positive in that test and admitted to the hospital.
