No more home quarantine in Goa: Bring COVID negative certificate or take test, says CM Pramod Sawant

Goa, which was declared coronavirus-free by April-end, has reported 67 fresh cases of the COVID-19, all of whom arrived in the state within the last two weeks after inter-state travel restrictions were eased

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that all persons arriving in Goa by air, rail or road route will have the option to either bring COVID negative certificate or have to undergo a paid COVID-19 test at the entry point. The 14-day home quarantine option will be no longer available.

"We maintain the need for a COVID negative certificate and a compulsory COVID test. The 14-day home quarantine option will be no longer available. Either you bring the negative certificate or have to take the test," news agency ANI quoted Goa CM Pramod Sawant as saying.

Goa will now have a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for travellers coming to the state, doing away with the idea of having a separate guideline for persons from Maharashtra entering the coastal state.

On Tuesday, CM Sawant had indicated that the government will issue separate guidelines for travellers entering the state from Maharashtra, which has been worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are thinking of bringing in a different set of SOP for people who will be coming from Maharashtra as 90 per cent of the [Covid-19] patients in Goa are from Maharashtra," Sawant was quoted as saying.

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Goa, which was declared coronavirus-free by April-end, has reported 67 fresh cases of the COVID-19, all of whom arrived in the state within the last two weeks after inter-state travel restrictions were eased.

Earlier on Sunday, Goa had released a revised SOP for all persons arriving in the state by air, rail or road route. Travellers were given the option to either undergo a paid COVID-19 test at the entry point or undergo a 14-day home quarantine. The cost of the COVID-19 test charged by the state government is Rs 2,000, which have to be borne by the incoming passenger.

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Opposition parties in Goa had objected to the voluntary home quarantine option citing monitoring issues. The CM said the option of voluntary home quarantine was offered to new arrivals given that the sample testing capacity of the state stands at about 1,000 samples in 24 hours.

On the economy front, the state government is set to start implementing suggestions made by the economic revival committee, said CM Sawant. Goa government has also allowed industrial estates to resume operations.