NT NETWORK

Panaji

The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday permitted fully vaccinated workforce and residents of Goa to enter the state with COVID vaccine certificates, even in the absence of a COVID negative certificate, till the first week of August 2021.

The state government had filed an application before the HC urging it to permit fully vaccinated people to enter Goa without COVID negative certificate.

The miscellaneous civil application filed before the HC had sought modification in an earlier order of the court, which had made COVID negative certificate mandatory for entering Goa.

The HC granted leave to the government on the matter till August 5, by way of ad-interim relief.

The HC specified that fully vaccinated meant that it should be two or more weeks since the beneficiary received the final dose of the recommended schedule of the vaccine, and such a person should be asymptomatic.

The categories of fully vaccinated people who are permitted without COVID negative certificate are the workforce, that is persons who enter the state for purpose of work in industries, labour force, construction, etc; the people who enter Goa for purpose of business; residents of Goa who are now stranded outside Goa for the pandemic related or other such issues; residents of Goa who are required

to travel for work, medical reasons, outside the state and return after a few days.

The matter will be further placed for hearing on August 5 for clarification whether the state seeks entry of fully vaccinated tourists in the state without COVID negative certificate.

However, COVID negative certificate will be mandatory for tourists entering Goa for now.

The HC was hearing a public interest litigation filed by the South Goa Advocates’ Association seeking various prayers connected with the COVID management in the state.

The government had pleaded that the order should be changed to permit those who have taken both the doses of COVID vaccine as well those with COVID negative certificate.