COVID-19 negative report or vaccination certificates mandatory for tourists visiting Goa: CM

The High Court bench said that it was unfair to the state’s population that Goa’s tourist destination status was being cited as a reason for not asking for COVID negative tests reports from tourists. “Tourists entering Goa will have to produce valid negative RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction) test reports or vaccination certificate upon entering the state,” Sawant said, specifying that this was applicable only for tourists.

Meanwhile, the state government is also imposing a curfew from May 9-23. Only essential services have been exempted. Grocery shops have been allowed to remain open from 7 am to 1 pm, while takeaways have been allowed from 7 am to 7 pm.

Goa’s tourism industry has been badly hit since 2020 and the state was hoping to revive it after the first wave of the novel Coronavirus subsided.

Goa recorded a high positivity rate at 51.65 percent with 3,496 of the 6,769 tests conducted emerging positive on May 6.

Goa added 4,195 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 56 deaths in the last 24 hours till May 7.