SOP sans mandatory testing kicks in today

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday that according to to the new standard operating procedure (SOP), which comes into force on Thursday, persons entering the state from abroad can now opt for 14-day home quarantine after their Covid-19 test is negative.
Earlier, they had to complete seven days in facility quarantine and another seven in home quarantine. While this option still exists under the new SOP, it is no longer compulsory. After getting tested and till the result is known, the person must stay in paid facility quarantine, the CM said.
“We change the SOP from time to time since Covid-19 is a new disease and there is no standard protocol to be followed,” he said, adding that the SOP that will be enforced from Wednesday was decided after consulting ministers, MLAs, opposition members and others.
This is the state’s seventh SOP on two months.
The new SOP, that does away with compulsory testing for domestic arrivals, led to a huge uproar. From Wednesday, persons arriving in Goa from within India will have three options — 14-day home quarantine, get tested by paying Rs 2,000 and wait at facility quarantine till the result is out, or produce a Covid certificate from an ICMR-approved lab that was issued less than 48 hours prior to arrival. “The government will paste a sticker on the house of those in home quarantine,” Sawant said.
The chief minister said that whenever someone is home quarantined, a local representative — panch, sarpanch, secretary panchayat, chief officer of the municipality or councillor — will keep watch on them.
Elaborating on why the SOP was changed, Sawant said that prior to this version, the government collected swabs from persons entering the state and sent them home till the results were out. In this period, because there was no home quarantine stamp on the person’s hand, they used to mingle with everyone. “Because of this, we changed the SOP,” he said, adding that some people couldn’t afford the fee to get tested.
As per the new SOP, Sawant said that all persons travelling to Goa will be screened with a thermal scanner. Earlier, he said, the screening was done with a thermal gun. “A thermal scanner is better than a thermal gun,” he said. “Once a person passes through the scanner, the temperature will be recorded,” he said.
The CM also said that all symtomatic persons would be kept in isolation and tested. “We will test symptomatic persons compulsorily, and we may not charge them,” he said