Search begins for tourists who landed in Goa from UAE & UK, amid fears of new coronavirus strain

Following a sudden surge in the number of patients affected by a new COVID-19 variant in the UK and UAE, Goa health authorities are hard at work trying to locate a total of 602 tourists from the two aforementioned countries. The authorities are tracking down anyone who came to Goa after December 9 from either the UK or UAE.

Officials have gone on to state that most of these tourists from overseas are expected to be in the Cansaulim area of South Goa district, mainly because this is a popular beach destination.

Health Department officials identify locations

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According to officials from the Goa Health Department, there are 91 tourists in Cansaulim, 57 in its neighbouring Cortalim area in South Goa, 48 in Corlim (North Goa) which also includes Old Goa, and 47 in Chimbel, Ribandar and several areas of the state capital, Panaji. The authorities have been keeping tabs on foreign tourists who visit India and now it seems to be paying off.

At any rate, there are still quite a few foreign tourists from the UK and UAE who have not been located as of now. According to reports, there are at least 70 foreign tourists who are unaccounted for. Authorities have also been asked to locate people from these two countries who live around and near Goa.

Why the need to locate foreign tourists?

The sudden need to locate tourists from the UK and UAE comes after reports of the discovery of a new type of the COVID-19 strain. As per reports, there is a new variant of the novel coronavirus, cases of which have been reported in Britain. Owing to this, it is vital to test and keep a tab on those who have come from overseas countries.