the goan I network
PANAJI
All hell broke loose among the officials of Goa’s Health Department on Tuesday evening when Karnataka Department of Health and Family Welfare announced its 11th confirmed case of COVID-19, a 67-year-old female resident of Bengaluru, who returned from Dubai via Goa on March 9. It has been learnt that 26 persons deboarded at Goa International Airport, Dabolim from the same flight that the woman travelled on from Dubai to Goa.
Goa’s health services led by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane made frantic attempts through Tuesday evening to trace these 26 persons. Health Secretary Nila Mohanan got in touch with the concerned airlines to secure the address and contact details of all the passengers who deboarded the flight at Goa International Airport. The unvoiced fear is that these passengers might have come in close contact with the 67 year-old female while on the flight.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane announced late evening on Tuesday that the Goa government is leaving no stone unturned in getting in touch with all the people who have got off from that flight and entered Goa. “We are getting the address and contact details of all 26 persons who got down at Goa. We are trying to contact them so that we can get the test of each of them done. We will be putting them in the government isolation facility. People with any symptoms will be kept in full isolation for a 14-day period as is mandatory. Others’ quarantine will be decided by the authorities.”
In the meantime, in a targeted attempt aimed at ensuring accessibility of hand sanitisers and legally marked face masks for all Goans, the officials of the Legal Metrology Department booked 12 cases and seized 806 ordinary masks and 195 N95 masks for not bearing mandatory declaration as required under legal Metrology Act and Rules in force.
Cases have been booked by inspectors of legal metrology in Bicholim, Mapusa, Panaji, Margao, Ponda and Curchorem. These raids were carried out under the guidance of Controller Legal Metrology Prasad Shirodkar and Assistant Controller Packaged Commodity Arun Panchwadkar.
In Bicholim, one case was booked and five N95 masks were seized. Three cases were booked in Mapusa and 485 ordinary masks and 11 N95 masks were seized. In Panaji, one case was booked and 33 ordinary masks were seized.
In Margao, one case was booked and 190 N95 masks were seized. Three cases were booked in Ponda and 132 ordinary masks and 54 N95 masks were seized. In Curchorem, three cases were booked and 153 ordinary masks were seized.
