E-Paper
Covid negative certificates or proof of jab must for tourists entering Goa
Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that the measure would be enforced from next week in compliance with a high court order.
Goa has made it mandatory for tourists entering the state to either have Covid-19 negative certificates or that of having been fully vaccinated.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that the measure would be enforced from next week in compliance with a high court order.
“Tourists entering Goa will have to produce valid RT PCR [reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction] negative test reports or proof of vaccination upon entering the state. This is only applicable for tourists,” Sawant said.
The announcement came after the Bombay High Court at Goa on Thursday said that it was “not justified” that Goa is not insisting upon Covid-19 negative certificates from people seeking to visit the state.
“Based on this unrestricted entry, Goa is touted as one of the few tourist destinations where all is well. This is neither fair to the populace in Goa already suffering from the overstretched medical infrastructure nor to the unsuspecting tourists who have to very often avail of the overstretched facilities at a great price,” the court said. It added the government should come up with restrictions. The court said that it was unfair to the state’s population that Goa being a tourist destination was being cited as a reason for not making it mandatory for having negative tests on arrival.
Goa was reluctant to put restrictions on tourist arrivals fearing it would damage the tourism industry following a bad year due to a harsh Covid-19 induced lockdown in 2020.
Goa had the highest positivity rate among states (48.5%) the first week of May.
