Over 2,000 Goans repatriated amid COVID-19 pandemic

The Goa state NRI commissioner Narendra Sawaikar informed that over 2000 Goans stranded on ships and in foreign countries have been brought back to the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Panaji: Over 2,000 Goans stranded on ships and in foreign countries have been brought back to the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official here said on Wednesday.

State NRI commissioner Narendra Sawaikar said till date, 2,304 Goans employed on ships and 260 stranded in 31 countries have reached the coastal state.

A flight from Dubai under Vande Bharat Mission and 11 chartered flights with people employed on ships had landed in Goa since the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown, he said.

As per the Union Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines, people arriving from foreign countries have to be quarantined for seven days in a hotel after conducting COVID-19 test on them.

At least 31 hotels with 1,819 rooms were being used to quarantine people who had travelled to the state from foreign countries, Sawaikar said.

According to official data, around 6,000-7,000 Goans working on ships wished to return to their home state because of the current health crisis. (PTI)