Panaji:
The Goa government on Thursday decided not to allow around 100 seafarers to enter the state in view of the coronavirus threat after they requested for disembarkment from their ship.
The government said the seafarers from Goa will have to follow coronavirus-related quarantine protocol before they are allowed entry into the state.
Ports Minister Michael Lobo on Thursday discussed the matter with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant after his department received a request from the 100-odd Goan seafarers to enter the state.
It has been decided not to allow the crew of the ship to land in Goa. Instead, they will have to return to Mumbai where they will be kept in a quarantine facility before allowing them in Goa, he said.
This is a protocol to be followed. We cannot allow the ship (now off Goa coast) to come to Mormugao Port Trust or any other Goa port, he said.
Lobo said the seafarers will have to undergo 14-day quarantine in Mumbai before arriving in Goa.
Once they arrive here, they will be checked for COVID-19 and then kept in home quarantine for another 14 days, he said.
