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Goa mandates RT-PCR test, quarantine for int'l passengers amid omicron scare. Check details
Sawant said the Centre is expected to decide a policy on chartered flights on Wednesday, which will bring clarity on the upcoming tourism season.
Amid the omicron scare, the Goa government on Tuesday made RT-PCR test and self-isolation mandatory for all international passengers arriving in the state. The state government also said those coming from 12 "high risk" countries, where the omicron variant of coronavirus was detected, will be quarantined for 14 days.
This came after chief minister Pramod Sawant chaired a high-level meeting of officials along with health minister Vishwajit Rane in view of the rising global concerns over the latest variant. The meeting was attended by officials of the Goa health department, airport, and the Mormugao Port Trust.
"The state government will adhere to the guidelines issued by the Centre to check the spread of coronavirus in the country. While all the international passengers will have to undergo RT-PCR test compulsorily, those arriving from the 12 countries, where Omicron variant has been detected, would be quarantined for 14 days," Sawant said, adding that all the international passengers, excluding those from the 12 countries, would have to undergo self-isolation on their arrival in the state.
Sawant said the Centre is expected to decide a policy on chartered flights on Wednesday, which will bring clarity on the upcoming tourism season.
The emergence of the new variant of Covid-19 omicron has triggered widespread concern as multiple mutations have been found in the strain that can possibly dampen all the efforts to slow down the ongoing pandemic.
Omicron (B.1.1.529) was first reported in Botswana on November 11 and appeared on November 14 in South Africa. It has been declared a 'variant of concern' by the World Health Organisation (WHO). A number of countries, including South Africa, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, have reported cases concerning the new strain.
Meanwhile, the strict norms for international passengers arriving in the country, especially from 'at-risk' countries, will also come into effect from December 1 as part of the government's efforts to keep the spread of the new variant at bay.
(With agency inputs)
