Goa’s 100 per cent first dose vaccination claim has been questioned by political parties and the Awaken India Movement who point out that there are people across the State who have not taken the first dose of the anti-COVID-19 vaccination. The government had based their claim on the number of persons enrolled on the voters’ list and juxtaposing this with the number of people who had received the first dose to arrive at the conclusion. In both cases, those above the age of 18 are eligible, so this was taken as the point of reference. While this may not have been the most perfect of data to rely upon when making a claim of vaccination, there is no doubt that Goa is still adding to the COVID-19 numbers on a daily basis and so too on the death count, though there are days when mortalities are nil. Goa therefore is not completely clear of the virus.
In July this year, the Chief Minister had said that the State would consider opening up fully for tourism only after 100 per cent of the population has taken the first dose of the vaccination. The target date was July 31, but this was not achieved. If the 100 per cent objective has now been reached, as per the claim made, will Goa soon open its doors fully for tourism? The season is just over a fortnight away. Already anybody who has received both doses of the vaccine is permitted entry, will there be further relaxations in the standard operating procedure? After the Ganesh Chaturthi weekend it was expected that the government would permit more activities to restart, but that has not happened.
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Ironically, despite the claim of 100 per cent first dose vaccination completion, Goa is in the fifth month since curfew was imposed in the month of May to control spread of the virus as COVID-19 cases had then spiralled out of control and the medical services had been burdened far beyond their capacity. The government has again, as it has been doing every Sunday evening since the end of May, extended the State-level curfew by another seven days, but this extension included a quarantine rule for people coming from Kerala so that they can be kept under surveillance. Essentially, this is because of the increasing cases of COVID in that State and also the outbreak of Nipah. Kerala is accounting for well over 50 per cent of the daily new COVID-19 cases in the country.
At the all-India level, the Centre has expressed concern that COVID-19 cases in Kerala and Maharashtra were still high with the States reporting 20,240 and 4,154 cases respectively in the nationwide day’s tally of 27,254, which is lower than 33,376 on Saturday and 28,591 on Sunday. Goa, on September 12, reported 38 new cases, up from 29 the previous day. On September 13 the count rose to 54, and this was expected as there would have been a drop in testing during the Chaturthi weekend. The concern is whether the number will rise in the coming days, as pandemic protocols were ignored at some places during the festival.
On the other hand, Goa with smaller numbers of population and cases is in a better position to control the spread of the virus if it acts strictly. The country’s daily positivity rate stood at 2.26 per cent, again less than 3 per cent for the last 14 days while the weekly rate of 2.11 per cent is less than 3 per cent for the last 80 days. Goa’s positivity rate stands at 1.62 per cent, which is better than the national average. The State is faring better in all respects – cases, mortality, vaccination and test positivity rate. It, however, cannot turn complacent. And that perhaps is why the curfew has not been withdrawn.
