Health Min warns restaurants of cancelling licences if SOPs violated

Team Herald

PANJIM: Soon after the State Expert Committee on Health held their meeting to review COVID-19 cases and vaccination in the State, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, spoke about how the government plans to tackle rising cases and warned restaurants that their licences will be cancelled if they are found violating the Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs). 

Addressing the media persons, on Monday, Rane outlined the various suggestions the committee will be making to the Chief Minister for final implementation, following which modified and stricter SOPs will be announced.  

These included increasing the fine on people who are found not wearing masks as well as insisting on COVID-negative certificates from the States of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala that are asking travellers from Goa to get tested before heading to those States. Another is imposing restrictions on public gatherings such as weddings. 

Rane emphasised that the government plans on procuring open-ended kits for COVID-19 testing whereby the scale of testing in the State would increase to 2,500 to 2,700 a day. These equipment would be placed at Hospicio Hospital Margao, Asilo Hospital Mapusa and Goa Medical College and Hospital Bambolim.  

Amongst other steps, such as enhanced contact tracing, he appealed to the locals and tourists to follow COVID-19 guidelines and expressed concerns about restaurants that are flouting such norms. He said that he had already asked the Food and Drug Administration to take stringent action. 

GMC Dean Dr Shivanand Bandekar, who was part of the Expert Committee, appealed to children of elderly to bring senior citizens in larger numbers for the COVID-19 vaccination programme and said there is enough data out there that the vaccines are safe. 

He also said there might be some flexibility in the 49-59 age group with comorbidities. 

He explained that the Centre’s recent guidelines for increasing the gap between first and second dose of the vaccine is nothing to worry about and it’s just to increase the efficacy period. 

He stressed that the State is monitoring the UK COVID-19 variant and that there are no patients presently in the State. 

He also said that they are monitoring the Brazilian COVID-19 variant that is travelling via Portugal and so travellers from those countries are being monitored but clarified that there are no such cases in Goa.