Don’t come to Goa on holiday via special trains: CM Pramod Sawant

He said that the state government has made arrangements for those stranded people who would be coming back home from Saturday.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday urged revellers and vacationers not to visit the popular tourist destination for leisure trips, despite the resumption of train services because both beaches and hotels are closed due to the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant delivers a speech during a confidence motion held at a special session in Goa State Legislative Assembly, in Panaji, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. Twenty MLAs voted for the motion of confidence in the two-day-old government, while 15 opposed it. (PTI)

“People, who still want to come to Goa, will be put at hotels that have been converted into makeshift institutional quarantine centres. But, we’ll make them pay for their stay at these quarantine centres,” the CM said while addressing a press conference.

He said that the state government has made arrangements for those stranded people who would be coming back home from Saturday. All of them would be tested and quarantined till their results are available, he added.

“We’ve checked with the railway authorities. Around 500 people will be arriving by the first train to Goa from New Delhi on Saturday since the nationwide lockdown restrictions were imposed on March 25. The train will leave for New Delhi on Sunday. The New Delhi-Margao train will be a weekly service. A New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram train is also slated to make a scheduled stop at Margao next week. We’ve sealed all, except one, exits at our state’s only railway station in Margao,” Sawant said.

The passengers would be ferried from the Margao railway station by buses to the South Goa District Hospital, where they would be tested and later quarantined at the Fatorda Stadium until their test results are made available, the CM said.

Those who test positive would be admitted to Goa Medical College and Hospital, which has been converted into a dedicated Covid-19 facility.

“Those who test negative will be stamped and asked to stay under self-isolation at home,” the CM said.

“We’re planning to double our daily testing capacity to 1,000 after the procurement of a new machine,” he added.

He allayed apprehensions about the authenticity of the test results, as all of them would be double-checked to minimise error, if any.

“We won’t withhold any information regarding Covid-19 related deaths,” he said.

The CM made the comment in the wake of growing concerns over the death of four persons in the past few weeks that have been suspected to be because of Covid-19.

“For instance, the Margao patient, who died, was young. He was tested thrice in Goa, and then his swab samples were sent to Pune’s National Institute of Virology. That, too, proved negative. Besides, his close contacts were tested,” he added.

Goa has reported seven Covid-19 positive cases to date, and all of them have recovered.