Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji (SHP)
Panaji, May 27: The Goa government is mulling over the implementation of more stringent standard operating procedure (SOP) for people entering into the state from Maharashtra, chief minister Pramod Sawant said.
The CM maintained that the state government was considering going in that direction because 90 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Goa belonged to those who arrived from Maharashtra.
“We are thinking of having a separate SOP for those coming in from Maharashtra,” Sawant told reporters on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the SOP currently in place that has been issued by the state government (on Sunday) shall continue to be in operation, the CM added.
The chief minister also asserted that the situation in the state was under control, as the coronavirus patients would recover soon. Further, he pointed out that the positive cases in Goa were because of the inflow of travellers from other parts of the country, following the resumption of air, rail, road travel. "Not a single person living in Goa has contracted the infection. Patients getting treated in the state are those who have come in from other states. Goa has not recorded community transmission. It is safe and in the green zone," Sawant said.
According to the revised SOP issued on Sunday, all entrants, irrespective of the mode of transport, have the option of providing a COVID-19 negative certificate from a laboratory approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), to avoid being tested in the state.
Those who do not possess a certificate from an ICMR-approved lab have the same two options as the previous protocol. Either they could pay Rs 2,000 and get a test done, or be sent to 14-day home quarantine. "After their samples are taken, they will be given a protocol which they will have to follow, including home quarantine, social distancing, and not mixing with people. If the sample tests positive, they will be admitted to the Covid-19 hospital and their family members will be placed in facility quarantine," Sawant explained.