No curbs, but take precautions while celebrating Christmas, New Year: Goa CM Sawant
According to Goa government figures there are 3,500 foreign tourists currently in Goa, who, as per government advisories, have to test themselves eight days after landing in the country.
The Goa government will not impose any restrictions for Christmas and New Year given that the twin festivals are celebrated in a ‘big way’ in Goa, but will issue an advisory asking the local people as well as tourists to maintain precautions while celebrating, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday.
After a meeting of the state-level task force, the Goa CM said that though there were no cases of the Omicron variant yet detected in the state the rising positivity rate was a cause of concern.
“We have not introduced any restrictions for now, this being the tourist and festive season and Christmas is celebrated in a big way in Goa, but despite that the celebration should be done with precautions,” Sawant said.
“We are very concerned that the positivity rate from 1.8% has gone up to 3.5%. This is a serious thing and hence people should take all precautions. Our advisory will be issued but people should not go to any crowded places without masks. As far as possible all functions should be in open spaces and functions should not be organised in AC halls,” Sawant said.
“We had sent a total of 28 samples that were suspected of being infected with Omicron. Eight were found positive with the delta virus. So far none have tested for the Omicron variant. 19 reports are still pending. That’s why we have taken the decision to get the genome sequencing machine here,” the chief minister said adding that the state is currently relying on the National Institute of Virology Lab in Pune for test results.
According to government figures there are 3,500 foreign tourists currently in Goa, who, as per government advisories, have to test themselves eight days after landing in the country.
“We are trying to keep in touch with them (during their stay here) but some of their mobiles are not reachable. For foreign tourists taking an RT-PCR test after eight days (of arrival) is mandatory. So, we have asked the hotels where they are staying to get them tested at the nearest health centre,” Sawant said.
“Those who have not done it yet, the hotels have to insist that they get it done. If it is positive, then they have to get genome sequencing done and have to visit GMC for further investigation. We will send the tests to NIV in Pune for genome sequencing,” Sawant said.
The task force has also approved the procurement of a genome sequencing machine to be set up in the state so that the state does not have to rely on the NIV Pune Lab for genome sequencing.
“We have approved the establishment of a genome sequencing machine at GMC. By Monday, Tuesday we will source the machine and place an order and within a month we will set it up,” Sawant said.