COVID-19 Test Delays & Accommodation Payment in Advance Trouble Gulf Returnees in GOA

People returning from Middle East nations are experiencing hold-ups in their Covid-19 test results despite making the payment at the Goa airport.

According to a report in Newspaper, many returnees have complained about delays of up to a week and appealed for a mechanism that would guarantee delivery of test results on time.

Among those who landed at the Goa are passengers from Maharashtra and Karnataka who arrived at the Goa airport and were forced to undergo tests and pay Rs 2,000 before they were allowed to go to their states.

The delay in the test reports resulted in problems for the returnees, who had no document to show to their residential societies, police, villages heads and even doctors when they tried to seek healthcare.

For instance, a hopeful mother showed up in Goa through a non-stop departure from Saudi Arabia on July 10 and had her examples gathered at the air terminal. She was then permitted to go to Latur, in Maharashtra where she was ensured that her examples had been taken in Goa and that the report would be discharged inside two or three days, the report included. 

In any case, seven days on, she had still not been implied about her outcomes,



prompting the police and neighborhood specialists contacting her habitation. Not simply this, the ladies, who is five-months pregnant, was additionally not ready to counsel any doctor.

"I managed to get the report only on Thursday afternoon after I requested someone to collect it from the lab in Mapusa,” the woman was quoted as saying.

However, state epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar told the publication that the passengers are informed about the results within a day. He added that if there are delays, they are intimated about the results in two days, but added that delays longer than that have not happened.

Returnees from another flight from Qatar on July 8 experienced different issues. When passengers from other states were asked to get themselves tested, they declined as many were worried that they 

would have to get tested when they arrived at their respective states. After a detailed discussion with the officials, they were permitted to go to their home states.

Meanwhile, Goan returnees were directed to make payment beforehand for their hotel accommodation. A passenger alleged that they were not given a refund when they received their test results earlier than anticipated.