Goa village gets COVID-19 testing centre after 6 recent cases

Panaji, Jun 12 () The Goa health department has set up a mass COVID-19 testing facility at Chimbel village, a suburban area near Panaji, after six positive cases were reported from there in the last two days, an official said.

St Cruz MLA Tony Fernandes, under whose constituency the village falls, on Friday said that the government set up this facility after six members of a single family from Shiren locality there tested positive.

"The authorities are keeping a close watch on the area as that part of the village where these cases occurred is located near Indiranagar locality, which is one of the biggest slums in the state," he said.

"The slum houses around 12,000 people and we want to ensure that the virus does not spread in this area," Fernandes said.

The mass testing facility operated was made functional in this area on Friday morning, he said.

A senior health department official said that the mass testing facility was set up for speedy detection of COVID-19 cases.

"This is part of our efforts to break the chain of the virus transmission," the official said.

According to Fernandes, the state authorities have taken samples of over a hundred people from Shiren area of the village. RPS NP NP