33 Covid cases quarantined in Goa from Maharashtra: Sawant

Panaji, May 18 (IANS) Thirty three out of 35 active Covid-19 cases in Goa were “imported” from neighbouring Maharashtra and the remaining two active cases came to Goa from Karnataka, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday, adding that not a single case has been detected among resident Goans.

Sawant also said that nearly 1.5 lakh migrant workers had registered with the state government for a passage home, but added that states like Bihar and West Bengal had not booked trains to ferry migrants from their states back home.

“As of now, Goa has 35 positive cases, all of which are imported. 33 cases are from Maharashtra. Two cases are from Karnataka,” Sawant said, adding that in nearly all the cases, the Covid-19 positive persons were identified at the state’s road borders or as soon as they got off the railway station.

Goa has seen a surge of Covid-19 cases over the last few days, ever since movement across inter-state borders via train and roads increased after lockdown 3.0. The state did not have a single Covid-19 case since April 3 to May 13. But from May 14 onwards, the state has recorded 35 active cases.

Sawant also said that since the lockdown 160 seafarers had returned to Goa and as many as 10,000 migrant workers had returned to their home states of Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, and others by train.

“As of now, 1.5 lakh migrant labourers have registered to return to their homes. While the Goa government has set guidelines for migrant labourers to return home, some states like Bihar and West Bengal are not booking trains enabling their return,” Sawant said.

Earlier on Monday, more than 60 migrant workers from West Bengal and Odisha had gathered outside the North Goa Collector’s office, pleading to facilitate their journey back home.

Sawant said that public works contractors and members of the hospitality industry were in the process of pooling together financial resources to book trains, in order to facilitate the journey of migrant workers back to their homes.

–IANS

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