Panaji: Goa government will study the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) adopted by other states like Maharashtra to monitor the people arriving from Delhi in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital.
State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane told reporters on Saturday that he has already written letter to State Health Secretary asking him to consult his counterpart (Secretary) in Maharashtra and see what steps they are taken about the people arriving from Delhi.
“We need not be taking very harsh steps but we have to see what SOPs are put in place at the Airport. Whether we need additional facility at the airport and how will we manage people who will be coming from Delhi,” he said.
“This is something that needs to be well thought of and there should be something that is workable and smoothly monitored system,” he said.
“The steps need to be taken as we cannot take it lying down,” he said.
Goa is preparing for the peak tourist season with the Christmas and New Year festivities just a month ahead.
Rane said that the state will also have to put SOP in place to monitor the migratory workers that will arrive in the state after “Chhat Puja”. “We need to have SOPs in place for the migratory workers who will arrive. We need to check them otherwise there will be a spike which I have always been predicting,” the minister said.
He said that the central government has sought details of the Isolation Kit program that was implemented by Goa government, which is counted as innovation in tackling the COVID-19.
Rane said that while SOPs can be introduced at the Airport, the government is still clueless on how to monitor the movement through railways.
