Goa declares COVID test for all international travellers upon arrival

In a tweet by Goa's Minister of Health, Vishwajit Rane, it has been stated that all international travellers, even those from the non-high-risk countries, will be tested for COVID-19 upon. The new rule kicks in at a time when reports of rising coronavirus infections have been coming in from multiple states in the country.
The tweet by the Minister read, "In view of the rising cases and as per the circular issued by Govt of Goa, we shall be testing all international passengers on arrival, travelling from high-risk countries as well as non-high risk countries.”

The Minister further went on to post another tweet where he mentioned that earlier the Government of Goa was testing only 2 percent of the passengers who were coming in from non-high-risk countries. But now, the state government has decided to test all international passengers due to public interest. The cost of rapid RT-PCR tests has been fixed at INR 1500.
The state of Goa has reported a single case of the Omicron virus as of now.

Goa is widely popular among both international and domestic travellers, and is usually a hotspot during the winter months. Here in Goa, authorities reported 170 new cases on Wednesday, as the passivity rate touched 5.25 percent. Notably, the positivity rate on Tuesday was at 4.03 percent. The state of Goa is currently in a jovial mood, with year-end parties being hosted all over the place.

The government has imposed restrictions for all party-goers. This means that a full vaccination certificate or negative COVID-19 test report is mandatory for gaining entry. All entertainment establishments, such as restaurants and pubs, among others, are operating with 50 percent capacity.