On Wednesday, Goa’s Covid positivity jumped to 5.25 per cent forcing a reluctant government to act. After days of dilly-dallying on tightening protocol, the State administration issued an order announcing a slew of restrictions that looked more like an eyewash. The key points are that all party venues are to welcome only fully-vaccinated guests and those with Covid-negative certificates. All other entertainment and tourism-related activities including casinos, water parks, river cruises, auditoriums and cinema halls should adhere to a 50 per cent seating capacity.
Can these be considered as serious deterrents to an emerging Covid situation? Or has the government gone through the motions to diffuse a backlash for preferring tourism over the safety of citizens? A 50 per cent restriction is already in force, and the only change now is that a 24-hour valid negative certificate is required instead of the earlier 72-hour window. How do authorities quantify 50 per cent capacity in casinos? Most of the New Year parties are already sold out and imposing a 50 per cent attendance at this juncture would be impractical, especially at a time when those in the entertainment business are looking forward to salvaging the losses of last year. Let’s be reminded that the Omicron fear still has not sunk in.
Secondly, such restrictions appear hollow when there is no monitoring mechanism on compliance in place. We have seen how hordes of tourists have run amok on beaches and streets openly violating protocols. The government has to accept that its machinery is falling way too short in keeping vigil over tourists, or it doesn't have the will to disturb tourism.
Thirdly, while there are protocols put in place at the airport, borders continue to remain vulnerable. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has admitted that logistics don't permit to have airport-type protocols at borders and the State would settle for routine checks for visitors.
Tightening of border checks is paramount in this situation because the neighbourhood is teeming with Omicron cases. Maharashtra's tally nearly touched 252 in a single spike of 85 on Thursday. Karnataka, which has reported 43 Omicron cases, registered a total of 566 new Covid cases on Thursday, with Bangalore alone accounting for 400. The swell in cases is visible across India. Goa becomes a perfect getaway and a weekend destination for people from Maharashtra and Karnataka because of restrictions in those States. It's only going to get worse during the New Year weekend where Goa goes full throttle. We are repeating the horrendous errors of the second wave.
On the positive side, Goa has detected only one Omicron case so far. Although the Covid cases are going up (on Thursday the State reported 261 new cases), the hospitalization of patients has been on the lower side. We wonder how credible the chief minister's assurance is on State's preparedness to face the Omicron wave, because, similar assurances during the second wave have let us down, and what we saw was mayhem at GMC.
The restrictions and protocols announced now may be meaningless in the larger context. However, with a grim situation at hand, we have to realize that each one of us holds a responsibility towards the larger good of society. Let's bid goodbye to 2021 with a hope of a safer new year, and a resolve to win over the monumental challenges that we could be facing in 2022.
