Panaji Feb 28 PTI Goa on Monday reported 18 COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 245019 while the death toll remained unchanged at 3801 an official said So far 240927 people have been discharged post recovery including 48 during the day leaving the state with 271 active cases he said With 1005 samples being examined in the last 24 hours the number of tests in Goa went up to 1882030 he added Goas COVID-19 figures Positive cases 245019 new cases 18 death toll 3801 discharged 240927 active cases 271 samples tested till date 1882030 PTI RPS BNM BNM BNM

Panaji Feb 26 PTI Of the 61 convicts who were released on parole from Goas prison in May last year to prevent overcrowding in view of the coronavirus pandemic 18 have returned to the jail on their own although they had freedom to be with their families while 43 others are still at home a senior official said The convicts who have returned to the jail have done so due to different factors including social pressure and financial constraints he said In May 2021 when COVID-19 started wreaking havoc once again more than half the number of convicts in the central jail at Colvale in North Goa the only prison in the state were allowed to go back home on parole to avoid overcrowding amid the pandemic the official attached to the jail said As many as 61 convicts out of the total 110 were granted parole based on their conduct in the prison Of them 18 have returned to the jail so far even though they had a liberty to remain outside jail on parole he said adding that the remaining ones continue to be with their families The period of parole granted to the convicts was extended several times he said These convicts returned to the jail due to social pressure financial constraints and some other factors the prison official added A high-powered committee which comprises Inspector General of Prisons would soon hold a meeting to decide on the parole as the COVID-19 situation is under control he said It may be extended for another one month maximum and once that period gets over the convicts will have to return to the jail he added The freedom was not granted to undertrials although in many cases the court had issued interim bail to them allowing them to be out for a month or two depending on the orders he said The prison management has stopped the practice of allowing relatives of the prisoners to visit them twice a week due to COVID-19 restrictions The official said that the high-powered committee might also look into restarting the practice PTI RPS NP NP