Planning a Goa trip? Please keep health certificate ready

Goa will not allow air travellers to enter the state without a health certificate. Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Tuesday said that even after the Centre opens up airports once the COVID-19 lock-down is eased or lifted, no one can enter the tourist haven without medical clearance.

Vishwajit Rane said he had already urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to take up the issue with the Union Civil Aviation ministry to not allow air travellers to enter the state without a COVID-19 certificate. The Civil Aviation Ministry can inform the various airlines about this condition, he said.

“Each state has powers to enforce its own rules to contain the spread of COVID-19,” the minister said.

Even if all COVID-19 patients in Goa are cured of the infection, the authorities will not relax, he said, adding that the state plans to ramp up its testing facilities in talukas to widen the scope.