COVID-19: After Karnataka, Goa wants precautionary measures for domestic flight passengers

Hours after Karnataka announced a seven-day institutional quarantine and another seven-day home quarantine for passengers entering the state using domestic flights from COVID-19 hotspots in the rest of the country, the Goa government too has sought permission from the central government to screen passengers landing at the state's only airport.

"In the interest of our state, I have requested Indian Council for Medical Research and Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to permit us to conduct antibody testing of the passengers and the passengers need to be issued a COVID-19 negative certificate to enter the state via domestic flights from Monday," Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Saturday.

"Such testing will help us identify asymptomatic patients while screening them at the airport to avoid community transmission," the Health Minister also said.

Earlier on Saturday, Karnataka announced that passengers travelling to the Southern state from Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh would be quarantined for seven days in institutional facilities and seven days at home as a precautionary measure. Goa's tally of active COVID-19 cases currently stands at 38.