Goa Likely To Become First State To Defeat COVID-19, No New Cases Since April 4

With no new COVID-19 cases reported in Goa in the last 11 days, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that the state could become a "green zone" by April 17 if no new cases are found.

Out of the two districts in the sate, South Goa has already been declared as a "green zone" (with no COVID-19 cases) by the Union Health Ministry.

Goa had a total of 7 COVID-19 cases from North Goa district. Out of the 7, five patients have recovered while two are undergoing treatment. Since April 4, no new coronavirus case has been reported in Goa.

"If no more cases are reported, then the North District will also be declared a a green zone by April 17," CM Sawant said.

He also said that security at the state border has been tightened after the neighbouring Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra was classified as "Orange Zone" and Belgavi in Karnataka also reported some cases.

Goa has already shut its borders with a few exception which include medical emergencies and movement of essential goods. To curb the transmission of the virus, the CM said that all truck drivers and their assistants will have to undergo dedicated "sanitisation channel" installed at the state border before entering Goa.

He has also requested all Goans to cooperate with the government during the extended lockdown till may 3. All government offices which were scheduled to start work after April 14, will now open on April 20.

Sawant also said that the state government will look into allowing relaxations to industries during the lockdown based on the guidelines released by the centre.

"As part of our efforts aimed at reviving the economic activity, the state government is working towards making each of the village panchayat and municipality economically self sustainable, depending on the assets under its jurisdiction," CM said.

Also Read: Early Preparations, Aggressive Contact Tracing, Testing: How Kerala Is Flattening Its Coronavirus Curve