Goa: Not just China, screen tourists from Kerala for coronavirus, say MLAs

PANAJI: Members of the Goa legislative assembly on Tuesday raised concerns over the detection of coronavirus in Kerala, and demanded the state government screen people travelling to Goa from Kerala ,as well as those flying in from China. Health minister Vishwajit Rane said he has requested the Union government to give the state a thermal scanner to screen for the virus.

Leader of opposition Digambar Kamat, who moved a calling attention motion, said there was fear and anxiety in the minds of the people of Goa due to cases of the dreaded infection reported .
Replying to the motion, Rane said that they would rope in anganwadi workers and teachers to create awareness about coronavirus among the people of Goa. He also said that since the state government doesn’t currently have a thermal scanner at railway stations, authorities use thermal guns. Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao said that a lot of tourists from Kerala arrive by train, and that screening should be done at railway stations.
“If required, more isolation centres will be created in the state,” Rane said, adding that there is no remedy for the virus and no treatment at the moment.
The health minister said that the government is following WHO guidelines strictly, and those coming from China are isolated for 28 days. He also said that Goa now has a health officer assigned to the airport as well as at the port. Besides, he said, two Ayush doctors have been deputed for screening passengers at the airport along with previously posted paramedics.
Kamat said Kerala had declared the coronavirus infection a ‘state disaster’, and called for screening of travellers from the state.