Panaji
Goa has become the first state where the number of active Covid-19 cases has fallen to zero since the outbreak as the seven people infected by the coronavirus disease have recovered, but state health minister Vishwajit Rane on Sunday cautioned against any complacency.
“Zero indeed has great value! Immensely happy to announce that all the COVID-19 positive cases in the state are now NEGATIVE,” Rane tweeted, thanking doctors and frontline workers “who worked tirelessly and risked their lives to save others”.
In a separate tweet, chief minister Pramod Sawant said: “A moment of satisfaction and relief for Goa as the last active Covid-19 case tests negative. Team of doctors and the entire support staff deserves applause for their relentless effort. No new positive case in Goa after 3rd April 2020.”
Rane, however, said the state authorities couldn’t afford to be complacent.
“While we have good news of zero COVID-19 cases in Goa, it is too early to tag our state as a ‘green zone’. It’s time to intensify the testing facilities, we are now drawing up protocols for random testing – testing of migratory workers, industrial workers, etc,” he tweeted shortly after the announcement regarding the recovery of all positive cases.
“We are also setting up smart kiosks, which will be placed at the borders, airport, MPT (Mormugao Port Trust), and several other locations that would be best suited for broadening our scope of testing,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“We are also setting up smart kiosks, which will be placed at the borders, airport, MPT (Mormugao Port Trust), and several other locations that would be best suited for broadening our scope of testing,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}In a statement earlier, Rane said the state government was proud to announce that all the patients who tested positive for Covid-19 in Goa had recovered.
“While currently we do not have any active cases in the state, it is our responsibility to keep in mind the importance of the lockdown, maintain social distancing, increase the scope of testing and adhere to norms and guidelines issued by both Central and state governments,” he said.
The patients who had recovered were moved to a hotel, where they will spend another 14 days in isolation before being sent home. This is being done as an additional precautionary measure.