No home quarantine option for those arriving in Goa, says CM Pramod Sawant

They must carry a COVID-19 negative test report or get tested, he says

Mumbai: The Goa government on Wednesday made changes to the standard operating procedure (SOP) that was in place, doing away with the home quarantine option.

Instead, the State Cabinet decided that every person arriving in Goa should either carry a COVID-19 negative test report or get tested on arrival.

“Those arriving in the State will have to either carry a valid COVID-19 negative report issued by an authorised laboratory or be prepared to be compulsorily tested on arrival. There will be no option of home quarantine,” Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said after the Cabinet meeting. This will be in force till June 3.

Goa was following three SOPs till now, which included carrying a negative certificate for COVID-19, getting tested by paying the charges of ₹2,000 or getting a 14-day home quarantine stamp.

Dr. Sawant said that the Cabinet felt that there was no need for a separate SOP for those coming from Maharashtra, though 90% of positive cases in Goa were those who had come from the neighbouring State.

Goa till date has had 67 cases of COVID-19, of which 39 are active. Ten people have been isolated in the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital, while 647 people remain in institutional quarantine at various hotels.

“Till date, there is no community transmission in Goa and it continues to remain a green zone as all the positive cases pertain to those who have travelled to the State,” Dr. Sawant said.