New SOP makes isolation rooms mandatory in Goa hotels, in a bid to arrest covid cases

The Goa government is working on a new SOP, which will make it compulsory for all hotels in the state to maintain isolation rooms for tourists and guests who test positive for Covid-19, Health Minister said on Wednesday. He also notified that the state Health Ministry is working to scale up the daily coronavirus testing quantum to an average of 2,000 tests every day.

Goa to boost COVID-19 Testing

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"We are also bringing new SOPs, so that every hotel will now have to have some isolation rooms. They need to maintain such rooms. Suppose they have some guests, who turns positive, it is their responsibility to isolate them," the Health Minister said, adding that guidelines to the effect would be issued by the Goa government soon.

Plans to amp up COVID-19 testing facilities are also in the state's pipeline. On an average, Goa conducts between1,500-1,700 tests every day, with the numbers dipping considerably during weekends. The Health Minister stated, "We are working on that. Our testing has been a bit up and down, but we want to reach that 2,000 figure."

Over the last few days, Goa has witnessed a numeric dip in the number of Covid-19 positive cases reported every day, with the tally touching two digits for the first time on November 14. On November 16 and 17, however, Goa reported 125 and 154 positive cases respectively. So far, Goa has recorded as many as 46,182 cases since the outbreak of the coronavirus infection.

Showing confidence in the state's health protocol and treatment facilities, the Health Minister also pointed out that tourists should visit Goa, adding, that as long as a proper medical system is in place in the state, there was no reason to worry about a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases. Goa recuperation rate stands at 95.6% with 44,132 recoveries. Out of the complete confirmed caseload that has been reported in Goa, about 667 have succumbed to the deadly infection.

-With inputs from IANS