Panaji, Apr 10 (IANS): The opposition Congress on Friday accused Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of using Goans as "guinea pigs" in the battle against COVID-19, after his government's deicison to also use ayurveda in the treatment of corona positive and suspected cases.

In a statement issued here, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat said that the state should not adopt such trial-and-error methods for treatment when the country is facing the coronavirus crisis.

"It is important that Sawant's claims regarding the ayurvedic medicines to treat and cure COVID-19 patients need to be substantiated with scientific methodology and procedure. The government should not adopt trial-and-error methods on our patients and should strictly refrain from using them as guinea pigs," Kamat said.

"We need to know whether the ayurvedic medicines used on COVID-19 patients are approved by the Ministry of Health and up to internationally acceptable standards. It is also important to know whether the Ministry for AYUSH has got permission from the World Health Organisation to undertake such treatments," the former Chief Minister said.

On Thursday, Sawant announced that Goa is the first state in the country to integrate ayurveda and allopathy systems of medicine to treat COVID-19 and suspect patients.

Sawant, a doctor in alternative medicine, had also said that ayurveda had no cure for COVID-19, but was beneficial in building an individual's immunity.