Tag Archives: Goa

Goa Makes 5-Day Quarantine Mandatory For Travellers From Kerala

The Goa government has made five-day quarantine compulsory for people, specially students and those coming for work purposes from Kerala, in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases in the southern state, officials said.

In a notification issued on September 12, the Goa administration also extended the ongoing statewide curfew till September 20, continuing ban on several activities, including casinos, in the coastal state.

The 24-hour curfew was first imposed on May 9 this year and since then it has been extended regularly.

The Goa government has opened majority of activities in the tourist state, but activities like casinos are yet to be reopened.

The notification also mentioned that “all students and employees coming from Kerala” shall undergo institutional quarantine for five days.

“The arrangements for quarantining students will be made by the administrators or principals of the educational institutions,” the notification said.

“For the employees, it shall be done by respective offices, companies or firms,” it adds.

The notification further said that after the end of five days, those who were quarantined shall undergo RT-PCR test.

People, other than students and employees, arriving from Kerala should produce the RT-PCR negative test report and remain in home quarantine for five days, the notification said.

“The constitutional functionaries, health care professionals and their spouses, children below two years of age, those arriving to attend death of a family member or medical emergency and passengers in transit from and to Kerala via any mode of transport are exempted from being quarantined,” the notification added. (Source NDTV)

Demand for resumption of chartered flights to Goa to be taken up with Centre: Goa CM

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said his government will put forth before the Centre the demand of industry bodies to resume international chartered flights to the coastal state from October this year.

The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) submitted a memorandum to the CM on August 17 seeking the resumption of chartered flights to provide a boost to the tourism sector, which is reeling under the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent curbs.

While domestic tourists can visit Goa with COVID-19 negative report or fully vaccinated certificate, international travellers are not being allowed in the state since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 when a nationwide lockdown was imposed and flights from overseas were suspended.
“The issue of resumption of chartered flights is not within the purview of the state government. It is the decision which needs to be taken by the Centre,” Sawant told.

The state government will place the demand of the tourism industry before the central government, he said.

Sawant said the industry bodies want that the central government make an announcement now, as two months are required to market the destination Goa and other preparations for tour operators.The GCCI and TTAG demanded that chartered flights from ”safe destinations”, which have allowed Indians to travel to their countries on tourist visas and from where international flights are operating, be allowed to arrive in Goa.

The industry bodies said chartered flights carrying tourists from countries like Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan can be allowed to land in Goa from October when the tourism season starts in the state. (Source MoneyControl.com)

India to issue first 5 lakh tourist visas for free to boost tourism: Sitharaman

Five lakh tourist visas will be issued free of charge – once the government resumes issuance – Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today, as the government unveiled a list of eight relief measures for some of the sectors worst affected by the Covid pandemic and lockdown.

This scheme will run till March 31, 2022, or till the first five lakh tourist visas are issued, whichever is earlier, Sitharaman said, adding that each tourist could only avail of this scheme once.

She said the total financial implication of the scheme wil be INR100 crore. Travel and tourism sector is among the sectors most badly hit by the pandemic. States for whom tourism is a big earner – like Goa and Kerala – have reported thousands of crores in losses.

As early as May last year (three months after the government suspended issuing tourist visas and ordered a lockdown), then Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the state suffered an estimated INR 15,000 crore loss.

o illustrate the impact Covid has had on this sector, Nirmala Sitharaman said 10.93 million tourists visited India in 2019 and spent nearly USD 31 billion on leisure and business.

 

Goa to reopen for tourism only after entire population is vaccinated with first dose

[/media-credit]                             Pramod Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the state will open its tourism sector only after it provides Covid-19 vaccines to 100 per cent of its population, at least the first dose. Until then, the tourist spot will remain out of bounds, reports Deepali Sharma for Hindustan Times.

Sawant said the state government’s target is to accomplish this goal of vaccinating everyone in the state with the first dose by July 31 and it will consider reopening only after achieving that target.

“Until we administer the first dose of vaccine (across the state), tourism will not be reopened here. Our target is to accomplish this goal by July 31. We will consider reopening only after achieving that goal,” ANI quoted Sawant as saying.

The state government launched ‘Tika Utsav 3.0’ on Sunday to achieve 100 per cent vaccination coverage of the first shot.

Earlier this week, the Chief Minister met with the stakeholders of the tourism industry, who also advised him to take any decision pertaining to reopening Goa after July 31 and also called for strict enforcement of protocol for entry to the state.

The coronavirus-induced curbs in Goa were extended on Sunday till June 21, as the positivity rate in the state stood at 14 per cent. The restrictions were imposed on May 9 and have been extended several times since then.

Following the lockdown-like restrictions, casinos, bars, restaurants, shops, river cruises, schools, colleges, educational institutions are closed. Social, sports, cultural and academic functions are prohibited. Marriage functions are allowed only after permission from the district magistrate or sub-divisional magistrate and with an attendance cap of 50.

“The inter-state movement of persons is allowed for those carrying Covid-19 negative report for a test done a maximum of 72 hours prior to entering Goa. Those entering Goa for medical emergencies are allowed after producing proof of the same,” PTI quoted the official as detailing the entry protocol to the state. (Source: Hindustan Times)