PANAJI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackrey blacklisted six states as "places of sensitive origin" including Goa. Following the suit, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday tweeted urging Thackeray to not "single out" states.

Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte released an order under the provisions of Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, where he blacklisted Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi NCR, and Uttarakhand as places of "sensitive origin", and this order stands firm until it is retracted or till Covid-19 stays notified as a disaster.

The directive has been issued by the Maharashtra government "in order to curb the transmission of Covid-19 in the state and in order to stop the influx of Covid-19 virus variants into the state of Maharashtra from other locations". The order has been issued under the provisions of Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

Reacting to the development, Goa Aam Aadmi Party convenor Rahul Mahambre said that Goa should also insist on Covid-19 certificates from tourists visiting the state.

"Maharashtra govt declares Goa is a place for sensitive origin for covid 19. But despite pleas from all @DrPramodPSawant is still adamant not to insist for covid negative for travellers coming to Goa," Mahambre said.

On Sunday, Goa reported its highest tally of daily Covid-19 cases with 951 persons testing positive. The state currently has 7,052 active Covid-19 patients.

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