Amid rising test positivity rate in peak tourist season, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that no restrictions will be imposed in the state as of now, advising people to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour. Sawant chaired a high-level meeting of the COVID Task Force on Friday evening over growing concerns over the highly contagious omicron Type. He said that 3,500 foreign tourists were in Goa but so far not a single case of Omicron has been reported.
“Concerned by this (Omicron), other states have implemented night curfew and other things. I just want to say that we will also issue advisory to the general public by Monday. We are very worried. The positivity rate has increased from 1.8 percent to 3.5 percent which is a serious matter. All people and tourists visiting Goa need to exercise caution. One should not go to a crowded place without a mask and avoid overcrowding in public places. Sawant said that as far as possible, the ceremony should be held in the open air and the use of AC halls should be minimized, masks should be used at all times.
“There were 28 suspected cases, whose samples were sent for genome testing to NIV (National Institute of Virology) in Pune. Of these, eight samples were positive for delta virus and results of 19 cases are awaited,” Sawant said.
The festivities are going on in full swing during the Christmas-New Year period and tourism is getting a big boost in the state. While states, including neighboring Maharashtra, have imposed new restrictions in the wake of the Omicron version, Sawant said no new restrictions are being imposed on the public until at least next week.
“In Goa, Christmas and 31st December are celebrated with great enthusiasm. Christmas is celebrated on a grand scale in Goa from 25 December to 1 January. But along with the celebration, precautions are also very important. I hope everyone takes precautions,” Sawant said.
“In festivals, we have not imposed any restrictions, but there is a need to follow the COVID protocols so that we can ensure that the Omicron virus is not active in Goa.” He said, ‘Everyone should follow the Kovid protocol, so that we do not have to impose curfew at night. Everyone should be alert.”
While the samples have been sent to Pune for genome testing, he said it takes up to 20 days for the test reports to arrive. He said that to reduce this delay, the state government would initiate the process of procuring a genome testing machine which would work in GMC in a month.
He said the government had made every effort to contact 3,500 foreign nationals to comply with the mandatory RT-PCR test on the eighth day of their arrival in the state. “But some of their phones are not available. Therefore, we have urged all stakeholders including hotels hosting foreign tourists to get their guests tested at the nearest primary health centres. If they are found positive, they should come to Goa Medical College to send the samples for genome testing,” Sawant said.
He said that hotels in the coastal region of the state need to be more cautious about this.
Sawant said that the State Health and Tourism Department will issue an advisory in this regard on December 27. There were 453 active cases here on Friday. COVID-19 In Goa, of which 67 were new, while no Covid deaths were reported.
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