All tourism centres in Kerala re-opened on Monday and will be accessible to tourists who have administered at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Thiruvananthapuram: With the opening of tourism centres in Kerala after several months owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the state Tourism Department has rolled out a "bio-bubble" model to protect tourists from the infection

What is a bio-bubble model?

"Bio-bubbles" are sanitized, safe and secure environments and people within them who are likely to come into contact with tourists are vaccinated. Only COVID-vaccinated staff will handle tourists from the time they arrive in the state right up to their destination. The model is said to create protective layers of mostly inoculated service. According to Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas, the protective ring of the "bio-bubble" will ensure that tourists landing in any airport in Kerala are met with only vaccinated ground staff.

"From the airport, they can drive to their chosen destinations in cabs, provided by accredited tour operators, whose drivers are all vaccinated. The same goes for the hotels, resorts or homestays they stay during their holiday, where the staff are vaccinated," Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas, ANI reported.

All tourism centres in Kerala re-opened on Monday and will be accessible to tourists who have administered at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, or possessing a negative RTPCR test certificate taken before 72 hours. This applies to hotels, resorts, homestays, houseboats and open spaces of tourist interest.

Meanwhile, Kerala on Wednesday reported 23,500 fresh COVID cases pushing the total infection caseload to 36,10,193, with the number of people succumbing to the virus rising to 18,120 with 116 more deaths.

Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

Log in to our website to save your bookmarks. It'll just take a moment.

Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.

Your session has expired, please login again.

You are now subscribed to our newsletters. In case you can’t find any email from our side, please check the spam folder.