60 Goa seafarers test negative for coronavirus: Health Minister

Sixty out of the 62 samples collected from seafarers who earlier this week disembarked from the cruise ship 'Marelles Discovery' have tested negative for COVID-19, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Friday.

Two samples will be retested due to a technical snag, Rane added.

"Samples of 62 sailors were tested at the Virology lab in GMC (Goa Medical College). 60 samples were reported negative. Due to a technical snag, two samples will be retested, reports of which are awaited. We are working tirelessly under the guidance of CM @DrPramodPSawant to keep Goa safe," the Health Minister tweeted on Friday.

The seafarers were driven to Goa by road on Wednesday, a couple of days after they disembarked from the 'Marella Discovery' at Mumbai port earlier this week. All of them had tested negative for COVID-19 when their samples were tested in Mumbai as per the protocol laid down by the Director General Shipping.

The 62 seafarers are currently quarantined in a hotel in Panaji.

There are currently nearly 120 more native Goan seafarers employed by two other cruise liners, who are still stranded in Mumbai.

( With inputs from IANS )