Students, labourers from Kerala will have to undergo institutional quarantine in Goa

Amid a spike in COVID cases in Kerala, the Goa government late on Sunday night imposed fresh restrictions on students and workforce from the Southern state who are visiting Goa.

According to the new list of restrictions, students and workers coming into Goa from Kerala, will be subject to institutional quarantine, which will be facilitated by managements of the educational institutions and offices or factories respectively.

"Further, in case of a person coming from Kerala, entry will be allowed with a negative RT-PCR report with following additional conditions. The students/employees coming from Kerala shall be subject to institutional quarantine of five days. The arrangements for the quarantine for students will be done by the administrators/principals of educational institutions," an order issued by the state administration late on Sunday said.

"For employees, it shall be done by respective offices/companies/firms. At the end of five days, they shall be tested by RT-PCR. Arrivals from Kerala other than students and employees should produce RT-PCR negative test reports and should be in home quarantine for five days," the order further said.

Travellers from Kerala, who have been exempted from the restrictions are those who arrive in the state as constitutional functionaries (Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai hails from Kerala), health care professionals and their spouses, children below the age of two, patients facing medical emergencies or those who are travelling to Goa in view of a death in the family.