Four days after the expert Committee on COVID-19 management recommended night curfew and other restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, the task force finally met and decided to wait another few days before imposing the night curfew that had been recommended. In the meantime, between the day when the recommendations were made and the meeting of the task force, the number of cases has risen drastically. A week earlier on December 26 the new cases had been 25 and the test positivity rate 2.32 per cent. A day later the cases had risen to 67 fresh infections and a test positivity rate of 3.9 per cent. On January 2 the figures had further gone up to 388 a day and the test positivity rate shot up to 10.76 per cent. The following day it was 631 new cases and positivity rate of 26.43 per cent. Until January 7, when the decision will be taken, it will rise higher as there is no reason to believe that there can be a drop. Is the delay in taking a decision a wise one?
This is beginning to have the appearance of a repeat of how the government vacillated in April last year before finally imposing curfew and other restrictions that came too late. To recall what occurred and place the situation in perspective, on April 1 last year, Goa had recorded 265 new Covid cases which by April 30 had risen to a daily fresh count of 3024. Throughout the month there had been questions raised of when the government would act to slow down the spread as there were no measures forthcoming. It was also in April last that the chief minister, just days before announcing a curfew towards the end of the month, had said that if the situation warrants the government would think of a lockdown. It was this similar procrastination in taking a decision that is being seen again. One really has to wonder why this is so.
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The delay in April 2021 had cost Goa dearly as the death toll had risen to levels that were unforeseen. After that experience one would have expected the State to be more alert and act immediately on signs of another wave appearing, but it has failed to do so, despite having the example of how other States have quickly clamped down on unnecessary activities to slow down the spread of the virus and protect their people. Everybody understands and appreciates the need to keep the economy running and that livelihoods are important, but can’t non-essential activities be restricted or totally curbed? One fails to comprehend the hesitancy in imposing such restrictions on public gatherings that can pause the spread of the virus. One would expect that any government would immediately impose restrictions as the virus has shown just how deadly it can be. But it isn’t happening, at least not for another few days.
In tackling the virus, days can be crucial and delays will only aggravate the situation. Delhi and Mumbai, despite having acted days ago are still seeing a massive rise in cases, with Delhi recording 4,000 plus new cases and Mumbai over 8,000 a day. The omicron variant may not be severe, but that should not result in the government procrastinating. Besides, just how much will a night curfew that begins at 11pm as proposed by the government really help in tackling the spread of the virus? The New Year festivities have ended, so late night partying will now be at a minimal, so a curfew that begins so late in the night could hardly prove effective in slowing down the spread. What Goa needs is quick decisions with scientifically backed reasoning. Only this can avoid the scenes that were prevalent in the summer of 2021. Those just cannot be repeated.
