South Goa in green zone, north in red, says Pramod Sawant

TNN | Updated: Apr 15, 2020, 08:18 IST

Pramod Sawant

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that South Goa has been placed in the green zone as per the Union government’s zoning list for Covid-19, while North Goa has been placed in the red zone. He further said that North Goa could be classified as a green zone after April 17.
As per the Centre’s classification, a red zone indicates a high number of cases. The last Covid-19 case in the state was detected on April 3.
Sawant told reporters that a district is declared a green zone if no positive case of Covid-19 is reported from there.
“We had initially detected one Covid-19 patient in South Goa, but he subsequently recovered. Hence, the district has been declared as a green zone,” he said.
The chief minister, however, warned that such a classification did not mean that everyone in South Goa was safe. “People should not come out of their houses. We have to maintain social distancing in both districts,” he said.
The districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra have been classified as orange zones, the chief minister said, adding that cases of Covid-19 have also been detected in Belagavi, Karnataka. “People of Goa must be alert,” he said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal, Sawant said special care should be given to elderly members of each family, especially those who have chronic diseases. He also insisted that everyone use home-made masks and follow instructions issued by the Ayush ministry to enhance immunity.
Poor families to get free groceries
Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said the state government has decided to provide Rs 25,000 to each panchayat towards free supply of groceries to poor Goan families in their respective jurisdictions. “Everyone should not be given free groceries. Each panchayat must identify only the poor families in their village and give them supplies free of cost,” he said.