Goa to screen domestic travellers at airport

Panaji:

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Thursday announced that domestic travellers arriving at the state’s Dabolim airport will also be screened for coronavirus infection.

Rane along with state health director Jose De Sa, dean of Goa Medical College and Hospital Shivanand Bandodkar and airport director Gagan Malik inspected the airport’s screening facility in the early hours of Thursday.

Talking to reporters here, Rane said the coastal state is gearing up to screen all domestic travellers who arrive at the airport.

“There is a possibility that some coronavirus infected persons may travel on domestic flights. We want to screen all travellers who come through the airport,” he said.

The health minister went on to rubbish the allegations that the airport was ill-prepared to screen travellers.

“All precautions are in place. We have adopted pro- active measures to ensure that the screening is done as per the Union health ministry’s guidelines,” he said.

The coastal state, which witnesses a heavy footfall of foreign travellers, has not recorded a single positive case of COVID-19 so far.