Goan Voice Newsletter: Tuesday 07 Apr. 2020
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Video: 'We're not holding our breath': Canadians stranded in Goa wait for another chance to get home
6 Apr: CTV News (Canada). Three Ottawa women who are stranded in India have another chance to get home, but after their latest attempt to leave was dashed, one of them says they're not holding their breath. On Friday, Katie Tayler, her sister and their mother were supposed to take a bus from Goa to Mumbai, where they were to catch a flight home but, after a 17-hour wait, the bus never arrived … Tayler said she was told there would be a new bus to Mumbai on Tuesday, ahead of a flight to Canada on April 9, but she’s yet to hear anything more… She has aleady spent up to $15,000 trying to get home. The Taylers have been trying to get back to Canada since March 18… 7m. 17s. click here
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Goa pushes through odds, evacuates over 2,500 stranded foreign tourists
7 Apr: The Hindu. Despite working with limited manpower, Goa has in the past 10 days evacuated 2,963 adults and 31 infants from around the world who were left stranded due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between March 25 and April 5, Goa airport has been busy with flights to Israel, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Sweden… To ensure the tourists are able to communicate with their families and co-ordinate for seats on relief flights, the Goa government has asked telecom providers to ensure that their SIM cards are active… Upon reaching their homes, these tourists will have to undergo home quarantine for 14 days… click here
6 Apr: Times of India. UK organises rescue flights to Goa, but steep fare shocks Britons… The steep fares did prompt some British nationals to consider staying on in India to wait till the lockdown is lifted …
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Twitter: Answers for British nationals booking upcoming flights. We hope these will help to explain your most common questions…
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Goan seafarer dies of COVID-19 in US
7 Apr: Herald. Yet another Goan, Andrew Fernandes who had settled down in Mumbai, fell victim to COVID-19. The seafarer passed away at the Larkin County Hospital in the United States of America. Andrew was working on a cruise liner and worked for the company for 17 years. As his condition deteriorated, he was placed on dialysis before his death. Andrew, who hails from Quepem, has a two sets of twins one being boys and the other girls and he did his initial education in Goa... click here
7 Apr: Herald. Anxious seafarers stranded overseas, lash out at govt for not addressing their problems …
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6 Apr: Times of India. Even as chief minister Pramod Sawant recently said that he wants to evacuate 8,000 Goans working abroad, questions are being raised if the state is equipped to quarantine so many people …
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Cardinal Oswald Gracias appeals for cremation of Covid-19 victims
6 Apr: UCAN. Cardinal Oswald Gracias has appealed to priests and followers in Bombay Archdiocese to cremate people who die from Covid-19 rather than bury them. The cardinal, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, used an April 2 video message to ask them to follow the instructions issued Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) and burn the bodies of Christian victims. Father Nigel Barrett, spokesman for the archdiocese said, “As per the direction of the cardinal, Christian people are supposed to cremate the bodies of victims of Covid-19, but if someone wants a burial they have to follow the directions of the BMC as it has identified one place,” the priest said. The archdiocese also asked pastors to ensure there are no more than five mourners present at funerals… click here
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Milford man, trapped in 'war zone' Goa, is now safe in Sweden
5 Apr: Milford Mercury (UK). A Milford Haven man, trapped in Goa, facing a desperate plight in a climate of threats of violence, has been safely airlifted to Sweden. The entire Indian subcontinent has been in lockdown since an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 23, leaving people like Barry Jon in a precarious position where they feared for their safety. Seasoned traveller Barry, who has been wintering in Keri, Goa since January 17, launched an impassioned plea for help for him and other Brits to get back home late last month, describing situations of people being ‘bamboo massaged’ [hit with sticks] as they went to try and collect food… Speaking to the Western Telegraph, Barry stressed his love of the Goanese people: “It’s a great place, an amazing place, and great people. There’s violence, naturally these are local people here who are very concerned [about the spread of coronavirus], and they see us as what’s disturbing their peace; there’s a lot of hostility, it’s natural because they want to get their place back to normal… click here
Video: 5 Apr: Minnesota Mercury. A Minnesotan who has been trapped across the world in another country’s COVID-19 lockdown is finally on board a plane home. Mike White, of Ramsey, was in India, a country with around 3,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 5…
click here
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Video: Spain charters a plane to fly more than 200 from India
6 Apr: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, EU. Within the framework of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has chartered a flight that has facilitated the return from India of more than 200 tourists, most of them Spanish. Shows passengers ar Goa airport … 1m.26.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhLb09lF-I click here
6 Apr: Murcia.com (Spain). More than 200 Spaniards return from India … it is worth noting the arrival this morning of a flight from New Delhi (India) and with a stopover in Goa that has facilitated the return of 234 passengers, including 191 Spaniards, other European citizens and foreigners … there was no other possible alternative for travelers to leave the country…
click here
6 Apr: Correio da Manha. Portuguese In Spanish Flight From India. Three Portuguese detained in India were being repatriated yesterday on a flight chartered by Spain to return 250 Spanish citizens to Madrid, said a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They boarded 104 people in New Delhi and 186 in Goa. In New Delhi there are still 30 Portuguese to be repatriated and in Diu 56.
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A Russian disappeared in Goa
6 Apr: MK. Russia. Due to the cancellation of charters, many Russian tourists are stuck in Goa. However, a resident of Ugra, Sergey Skok is missing. On March 18, he got on a bus to the local airport, and since then no one has seen or heard of him. He was born in 1974 and on March 5 arrived in Goa and settled in the village of Mandrem at the Shiva Place hotel,” his wife says. - Until March 11, inclusive, we regularly called up. But then he disappeared … We placed photos in Internet groups of Russians living in Goa. Found those who lived with Sergei in the same hotel, and those who just saw him on the beach, Mandrem is a small place. We were informed that there was a robbery in the hotel and some of his things were stolen. But on March 18 he was seen boarding a bus leaving for Dabolim. Since then, no news of him. We only know for sure that Sergei did not fly out of Goa. It is surprising why the police cannot go to the hotel and find out what happened to Sergey there. In Goa, out of habit, it’s easy to get into an unpleasant story - for example, get poisoned and get to the local hospital… click here
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