PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday that the state government will start screening for Covid-19 at the borders, and that private labs have also been asked to set up centres to test visitors on entry.
Persons who test positive on the rapid antigen test will be isolated at the border itself.
Sawant said that so far, 26 cases of the Delta variant have been confirmed in the state, but no cases of the Delta+ variant.
He said that of the samples sent for genome sequencing, 78% were of the Delta variant.
The state has intensified screening at the borders since the Delta+ variant has been found in Sindhudurg, the Maharashtra district bordering North Goa.
Additionally, Sawant said that the government has granted permission to a private lab to set up at the border.
“We have approached three laboratories, and soon, it will be set up,” he said.
“If we get suspected cases, we will keep them in isolation and do testing.” Speaking to reporters, Sawant said that the state surveillance unit under the integrated disease surveillance programme has identified four “sensational sites”, and will coordinate with regional genome sequencing labs.
The four include Goa Medical College, North Goa district hospital, Victor hospital, and South Goa district hospital.
Sawant said that the state government collects samples from these four hospitals for a period of 15 days, and sends them to Pune for testing for the Delta or Delta+ variant.
TOI reported on Wednesday that even as the Delta+ variant has been detected in neighboring Maharashtra, Goa continues to be in the dark about whether it has entered the state.
Results of 89 samples sent for genome sequencing to a laboratory in Pune are still awaited.
The proposed independent virology laboratory at GMC will take another month to become functional, a health official said.
In April, health minister Vishwajit Rane had announced that since the NIV did not return sample results in time, the state would have its own facility.