Team Herald
PANJIM: Announcing a mandatory home isolation of 17 days for UK passengers, who are currently in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Saturday said that till now, the swab samples of 12 UK returnees have tested negative for the new variant genome of Sars-CoV-2 virus.
Addressing media persons, Rane said the government is awaiting the report of 30 other COVID-19 positive patients – travellers and their contacts – from Pune’s National Institute of Virology for confirmation.
Rane said that of the 976 passengers, who had travelled from UK from December 9 till the midnight of December 22, there were 38 who tested positive for COVID-19, and 26 of their contacts also tested positive for the infection.
“We have received reports of 12 swabs and all have tested negative for the new variant. The other reports are awaited,” he said.
The Health Minister said that all the positive patients are currently in isolation at the ESI hospital in Margao. He lamented that the health authorities are getting several requests that the patients be discharged.
“However, strict directions have been issued that pending reports, no patient would be discharged. Also, post result and discharge, mandatory 17 days home isolation will be followed,” Rane said.
He added that Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) Dean Dr Shivanand Bandekar has been directed to consider if the facility to test the new strain of the virus, can be set up within the State, so that the results are available soon. “All the test reports are going to Pune. It is taking lot of time. We need to see, if some facility can be created in GMC,” he said.
“State needs to be self reliant in such matters. Our team has got sufficient experience in COVID management now,” Rane added.
