E-Paper
‘Make Covid-19 negative certificate mandatory to enter’: HC tells Goa govt
The state Advocate General had argued against making it mandatory for people to either produce a Covid negative certificate or be tested upon arrival.
The Bombay High Court at Goa has directed the Goa government to make it mandatory for all people arriving in Goa to have tested negative for Covid-19 saying that there was “no justification … [for] not insisting upon a negativity certificate from persons who seek entry into Goa at this crucial juncture.”
“We see no justification in the state of Goa not insisting upon a negativity certificate from persons who seek entry into Goa at this crucial juncture when reports indicate that the positivity rate in Goa is as high as 52%,” the Bombay High Court at Goa bench of Justices MS Sonak and MS Jawalkar said.
Hearing a bunch of petitions filed by a group of lawyers, activists and volunteers, the High Court ruled that while making sure that no Covid-19 positive person enters the state, its directions were not meant as an order to ‘seal the state’s borders’ while also directing that essential supplies to the state were not hampered.
Noting that the state government should have come up with restrictions on its own (without waiting for the intervention of the High Court), the High Court said that it was unfair to the state’s resident population that Goa being a tourist destination was being cited as a reason for not making it mandatory for a negative test on arrival.
“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 High Court observed.
“By way of an interim order, we direct the state Administration to ensure that no persons are permitted entry into the state unless they possess a negativity certificate obtained within 72 hours from the time they seek entry into the state,” the High Court ruled.
The High Court has, however, allowed the state government to seek a modification of its orders on Covid negative certification before entry into the state, provided the state government sets out its reasons in detail through an affidavit that should be filed by Monday.
“Until modified, however, a negativity certificate will be a must for entry into the state of Goa,” the High Court said.
The state Advocate General had argued against making it mandatory for people to either produce a Covid negative certificate or be tested upon arrival telling the court that “the decision as to whether a negativity certificate should be insisted upon or not is basically a policy decision.”
“Goa has to rely on its neighbouring states for most of the essential supplies and the insistence of any such negative certificate will again impact supplies. Even the central government does not support sealing borders of any states during these times,” he told the court.
The High Court, however, wasn’t convinced.
“No doubt, some difficulties are bound to arise when it comes to essential supplies… For this, the state administration will have to come out with some adequate protocol to ensure that the essential supplies are not disturbed and at the same time, Covid positive persons are not granted easy entry into the state whose medical infrastructure is already overstretched… but citing such instances to justify wholesale waiver of restrictions in such critical times is not justifiable,” the High Court said.
“This is only a case where steps are taken to ensure that the persons who are entering into Goa are not already tested as COVID positive so that they do not contribute to the spread of the epidemic and at the same time are cared for better in their own state,” the High Court said.
The High Court has also asked the government to file a status report on the availability of oxygen, beds, crucial drugs as well as to make operational mechanism so that the people know how many beds are available, where and what type as well as to provide security to doctors performing their duties.
Goa recorded 3,869 fresh cases of Covid-19 the highest single-day tally since the pandemic began while continuing to report a positivity rate of 51% for the second day in a row. 58 deaths were recorded in 24-hour period ending on Thursday taking the state’s toll to 1501, while nearly 30,000 people -- nearly 2% of the state’s population -- are currently active.
