Goa minister urges CM to ban entry of people from Maha; terms it as the 'only' solution

With the number of Coronavirus cases continuing to soar across Maharashtra, Goa minister Michael Lobo has now urged state Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to restrict the entry of people coming from the neighbouring state. Lobo has claimed that the ban on people from Maharashtra is the 'only' solution to curb transmission of COVID-19. So far Goa has reported only 69 positive cases including 38 recoveries and 0 deaths. 

Speaking to ANI, Lobo said, "Goa was totally in the green zone and we are still in the green zone as far as the state is concerned. I think one, two or three people from Delhi who came in had the virus. Maximum people are from Maharashtra, who came in and were COVID-19 positive. The other day also we had a meeting with all Cabinet ministers and we have made it compulsory that all the people who are coming in the state must be tested for Coronavirus."

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'95% of COVID cases Maha returnees'

Furthermore, he demanded that CM Sawant ban the entry of people from Maharashtra for a 'certain period.' "I am not against the people of Maharashtra. This should be banned by road, rail and air. Now if you want to stop having COVID patients coming into Goa, we have to ban their entry. This is the only solution because the transmission of Coronavirus in Maharashtra is really high." The Goa Science and Technology minister also claimed that there is no transmission of the virus in the state. 

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Lobo reasoned that rains are likely to hit Goa by June 5 and if the entry of people from Maharashtra is banned before that, then a 'major relief' will be provided as the transmission of the virus in the state will not begin. "We don't know how this virus will react during monsoon, only the doctors and scientists can tell about this," he remarked. He also claimed that 95 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in Goa are returnees from Maharashtra. Earlier, Karnataka had banned the entry of travellers from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu due to the huge number of cases in the respective states till May 31. 

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