Goa recorded its highest Covid-related death count in two months on Tuesday and the spike in Covid-positive cases jumped to 94 in a single day. The worry lines are showing once again on Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, but what is baffling is that he is not ready to tighten protocol on the lines of other States despite the grim situation at hand.
The scare is in the air and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apprehension says it all. “If we don’t stop this pandemic right now, then there could be a nationwide outbreak. We have to immediately stop the emerging second peak and take big and decisive steps", said Modi in a videoconference with chief ministers of States. The message is loud and clear, that States need to be on a heightened alert and must enforce restrictions to the extent of even demarcating micro-containment zones if need be.
Call it divine providence or sheer luck, Goa continues to celebrate its tourism with unhindered revelry mindful of the fact that neighbouring States of Maharashtra and Karnataka are having a torrid time. Maharashtra has been asked to prepare for a "worst-case" scenario because of the onset of the second wave. Sixty per cent of India's active cases are concentrated in Maharashtra. Karnataka reported 1,135 cases in a day on Tuesday, with areas of Bengaluru, Kalburagi and Bidar bearing the brunt of the virus.
Goa has to brace up for the looming threat and immediately tighten SOPs for inbound traffic. Travellers from Maharashtra and Karnataka have to be thoroughly scanned and a Covid-negative certification has to be enforced. The CM continues to be inconsiderate, despite a gruelling history of Covid fight and refuses to tighten entry points. We continue to rely on thermal scanners, laser guns and the discipline of visitors which has been largely unruly all along.
Is the government banking on the vaccination drive? The mega exercise has got a State-wide response of 4,859 on Monday and by this count, we still have a long way to go. Karnataka has a target of vaccinating three lakh people every day, and it has plans to take up the drive to its old age homes and mega residential complexes.
The State cannot lower its Covid guard because of the vaccination, simply because the jab will not give people instant immunity. Regardless of which vaccine is administered, medical experts have stated that a certain level of immunity can be attained only after two weeks of the second dose. That’s the average time taken by the immune system to mount an antibody response to the vaccine. There is every possibility of contracting the virus in the interim period.
The State government's approach is mystifying, as much as the prime minister's words of caution. While parts of the nation are battling the dreaded virus and when there is a talk of a 'second wave', Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi stadium, a home city of the PM, is hosting a cricket one-day series with packed crowds, throwing all possible protocol to the wind. Howzat!
