The test positivity rate also rose marginally to 4.03 per cent, but that brings it close to the 5 per cent cut off that has been recommended by the World Health Organisation for imposition of restrictions on movement of people. It was the right time for the government to decide on the steps it has to take to control the situation, and take measure before it is a question of too little being done too late. For starters, it already has the opinion of the experts on what should be done. Yet, the government has decided to wait till January 3, watch the situation and take a decision accordingly.
On December 27, the day that Goa reported its first Omicron variant Covid-19 case, the expert committee for Covid-19 management to advise the government on the pandemic recommended that further restrictions on movement be introduced, including night curfew. Several States have already imposed night curfews due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, especially of the new variant. Goa has not added any new restrictions, and just last week the Chief Minister had ruled out the imposition of night curfew, citing that this was the peak tourism week as well as a festive time. For a State that depends on tourism to shore up its revenue generation, the argument does make economic sense. But has the health and wellbeing of the local community been taken into consideration? Shouldn’t this be weighed against the financial wellbeing?
The new recommendation of the expert committee places a fresh perspective on the need for restrictions due to the pandemic and this is a veritable challenge for the administration, especially since in April last year the same dispensation had refused to act and impose curbs on movement of people, despite the increasing number of cases. This delay had led to the most devastating of periods during the pandemic of thousands being tested positive on a single day. Can Goa take such a risk again by delaying the decisions when other States have already imposed curbs on movement? Yet, this is exactly what is occurring again. The government is reluctant to bring in measures that can delay or stop the spread of the virus.
What is the point of having an expert committee to advise the government, if its recommendations are ignored? The expert committee’s analysis concludes that if active cases cross the 1000 mark and there is an average weekly positivity rate of above 3.5 per cent then schools will have to be shut. It further recommends that hotel businesses, restaurants be allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity if the average weekly rate goes beyond 3.5 per cent along with curbs on in-door gatherings. It has not suggested that any business be stopped, it is recommending certain restrictions in the working. If this will help, shouldn’t the government act immediately before that 3.5 per cent positivity rate becomes a reality?
One did expect that the government will be more alert after what had occurred earlier this year, and how the pandemic situation went out of hand with the delay in imposing curbs. There is no need of any lockdown as of this point of time, all that has been recommended are certain restrictions. The New Year Eve celebrations are coming up, and this could be a super spreader of a variant of the virus that is known to be easily transmittable. Under the circumstances, some control and some ceilings on the number of people gathering may be required. Precautions are always better than reactions to the situation, and here the government can see what is occurring in other States. It may have to revise its decision.
