MAPUSA: The residents on the coastal belt of Morjim, Siolim, Anjuna, Candolim and Calangute villages have expressed fear of community transmission of COVID-19 infection due to the government set up quarantine centres in their village jurisdiction.
The villagers claimed that having a quarantine centre in a residential area while keeping the local residents unaware can lead to outbreak of epidemic since people will not know who is under quarantine and areas they should avoid moving around.
Recently, the Calangute villagers raised their voice when they saw around 15 Maharashtra registered motorbikes parked outside a hotel. Candolim villagers last Wednesday also stopped a bus aboard seafarers who were brought for quarantine in their village.
On the same day, a bus full of seafarers were brought to Morjim and kept under quarantined for 14 days in a hotel.
“The seafarers are quarantined in a hotel at Morjim which is a residential area. These people are kept under quarantine but there are all possibilities that during these 14 days they may bribe the staff and come out and roam around in the village further causing community transmission. We are scared to move out and also to send our kids out with this fear,” said S Bagkar, a resident from Morjim.
Anjuna Caisua Village Panchayat wrote to the North Goa District Collector requesting to shift all the quarantined people from the hotels in the village taking into consideration health and safety of the villagers.
Meanwhile, a housing society in Siolim raised questions over the norms to be followed under home quarantine when they found out that an unknown person was home quarantine in a society’s flat without the knowledge of the people residing in the building.
With regards to this, secretary of the society Gregory D’Souza complaint to the local police station and health officer about the same and further demanded clarification over the norms to be followed during home quarantine.
“Housing societies should be informed about what is permissible and what not. Above all, there are many Goenkars, second home owners eagerly wanting to return to Goa since we are in the so called Green Zone. But if the public is not informed or made aware of the precautions to be followed there could be unwanted situations,” D’Souza mentioned.
“Cause of concern is the people may take advantage of tourism status of the State for such home quarantine and cause community transmission. With the limited rapid test kits and follow up, Goa may become the COVID-19 hotspot,” he added.
