Panaji, July 22: Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said his government will start rapid antigen tests of people arriving in the state from Thursday. He also said that the antibody testing began on Wednesday in Mangor Hill area of Vasco town in South Goa, which has been declared as a COVID-19 containment zone.

Sawant also said that if an entire family tests positive for coronavirus but the members are asymptomatic, then such patients will be allowed to remain in home quarantine. A rapid antigen test is a fast diagnostic test suitable for point-of-care testing that directly detects the presence or absence of an antigen. Goa CM Pramod Sawant Visits COVID-19 Containment Zone in Vasco.

Antibody testing determines whether a person had COVID-19 in the past and now has antibodies against the virus. Briefing mediapersons after the state cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Sawant said antigen testing would be introduced from Thursday for people arriving in Goa from other states.

So far, all those arriving in Goa were subjected to swab testing and they had to wait in state-run quarantine facilities till the test reports came out. Those who refused to get tested had to undergo a compulsory home quarantine for 14 days.

Sawant also said that the antibody testing has begun at Mangor Hill, a slum area in Vasco town, which is a COVID-19 hotspot in the coastal state. Mangor Hill was declared a containment zone last month after a spike in cases there.

The chief minister said those who died of COVID-19 in the coastal state so far had co-morbid conditions. "I appeal to all the people to take special precautions as far as those with co-morbid conditions are concerned, he said.

Sawant said the three-day lockdown imposed in the state during the last weekend was "successful". He also said that people were abiding by guidelines of the 'Janata Curfew', which is currently in force in the state and bans movement of people from 8 pm to 6 am.

"We can see that only 20 per cent of the traffic is on roads. We have allowed only essential services to operate during the Janata Curfew, he said.