PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday disclosed that a total of 37 UK returnees from among those whose samples were collected for Covid-19 test have tested positive for the coronavirus. In addition to this, 23 contacts of these persons have also tested positive.
“We have forwarded these 32 samples till Tuesday and 11 more samples on Wednesday to the National Institute of Virology, Pune for genome sequencing in order to rule out the new strain of Covid-19 that is doing rounds in the UK. Of these 42 total samples, only two reports have been received from the NIV and both are negative. The rest are awaited,” CM Sawant told the media.
He said that while the authorities await the test reports and make efforts to collect samples of the remaining UK returnees, all attempts are being made to monitor the traced passengers continuously. These persons have been placed under home isolation or have been isolated at various government-run institutions as a precaution.
CM Sawant also touched upon the issue of tourists thronging the state to bring in the New Year and urged all stakeholders from the tourism industry to step up and ensure that Covid safety norms such as wearing of face masks and social distancing are observed by those entering their establishments.
“We are trying our level best to ensure that the Covid safety norms are adhered to. Hotels, party places, and other party venues need to observe and strictly enforce these norms. The Health Department and Police Department are working hard,” CM Sawant stated.
