Lockdown in Goa? Here's what the government has to say

As COVID-19 cases are on a continuous rise, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced the state will impose a lockdown from 7 pm on Thursday (April 29) night till early Monday (May 3) morning. “People should not panic. All grocery stores and essential services will be allowed to operate, I also urge migrant labourers not to leave the state,” Sawant said at a press conference in Panaji.

A detailed SOP will be announced later in the day. “If people do not step out for the next four days we will be successful in breaking the chain of this surge,” Sawant said.

Casinos and bars will remain shut during the lockdown period, while restaurants will only be allowed to operate their kitchens for home deliveries. Dine-ins will not be allowed. There will be no restriction for essential services at the entry points of the state.

The Calangute-Candolim beach stretch, which is extremely popular with beachgoers and tourists, may go for a partial lockdown.

"We have informed the CM that the situation is going out of hand. Calangute, Candolim, and some parts of Arpora-Nagoa are witnessing a steep increase in cases. Precious lives are being lost, "Lobo said on Wednesday (April 28).

"Tourists should stay in the hotels. Things are going out of hand. We should try it for eight to ten days to see if we can bring down the number of cases," Lobo said, adding the Chief Minister had directed the district administration to work out the modalities of the partial lockdown.

On Monday, Goa reported 2,321 new cases. Of these, 15,260 are active. Of the 6,772 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, 2,321 were found positive. The state’s recovery rate also fell under 80 per cent for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Covid infections continue to spread rapidly despite lockdowns in many parts of the country. More than 3 lakh corona cases have been reported in India for the seventh consecutive day on Wednesday. India reported a record number of 3,60,960 cases and 3,293 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the health ministry`s data released on Wednesday morning.

According to the Union Health Ministry, a total of 1,79,97,267 persons have been infected with the virus since the beginning of the pandemic, out of which 1,48,17,371 people have fully recovered after defeating the virus.

For the first time the number of deaths crossed 2-lakh mark, with a total of 2,01,187 people losing their lives to the virus across the country, according to the health ministry data, Currently, there are 29,78,709 active cases in India.

(With IANS inputs)