Non-Goans coming to state will have to pay Rs 2,000 for test: Goa CM

PANAJI: Non-Goans arriving by train to the state this week will have to pay Rs 2,000 per head for their Covid-19 test, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday.
He said that the emergency train services should not be used to come to Goa on a holiday as the tourism sector continues to remain closed.
Sawant told TOI that not just those coming by train, but by any mode of transport, will be charged the same amount for Covid-19 test.
Those who do not have a home in Goa should refrain from coming here as “they won’t be able to enjoy”, Sawant said. We cannot restrict entry. If anyone lands here without a place to stay, they will have to live in the paid quarantine facility of the state government,” said Sawant, at a post-cabinet press conference
So far, 500 persons have registered to come to Goa by the Rajdhani Express, which will leave Delhi on May 15, he said.
“Many want to come to Goa just because trains are available. I want to tell them outright that if they have no home in Goa, they should not come here,” Sawant said.
All passengers will be stamped and won’t be able to move out for 14 days after their arrival, he said.
Addressing citizens’ apprehensions about the arrivals by train this week, Sawant said that the train coming from Delhi will be making limited stops along the way and that a concrete SOP is in place for testing and quarantining the passengers.
“At the Margao railway station, all exit points except one will be sealed. Passengers will be picked up by bus and taken to the Margao district hospital. Their samples will be collected for testing and till their results are ready, they will be kept at the Fatorda stadium for those six hours,” Sawant said.
Even if the test is found to be negative, all passengers will be mandatorily home-quarantined for 14 days, the CM said. Goans arriving by the train will be tested free of cost, Sawant said.
“Many are afraid about the train arriving in Goa, but the train cannot be stopped from coming to Goa. Everyone wants to get home at the earliest,” he said.
Sawant said that in the case of airport arrivals, passengers will have to remain at a facility within the airport till their Covid-19 test results are ready in six hours’ time.
“Same in the case of MPT. Till test results are ready, those who have arrived on a vessel, will be kept on the vessel itself till their test results come,” Sawant said.