Goa's Covid daily fatality rate continues to remain in the range of 1-4 while the infection rate is also hovering around two per cent. The frequent spike in the graph is an indication that the Coronavirus is still active. Tuesday's health bulletin reported three deaths and there are days when the infection rate throws up a scare. The rise in Covid hotspots from 73 to 96 is by itself a danger signal.
Close on the heels of States opening classes in physical form, Goa appears to be contemplating following suit. On Wednesday it was announced that effective September 5 the gap between both doses will be reduced to 42 days for teaching and non-teaching staff. Staff members who are not yet vaccinated are to produce a Covid-negative certificate after a RT-PCR test every week.
States like Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Assam, Puducherry, and Delhi have begun physical classes from September 1 after enforcing necessary State-level protocol, with some deciding to hold classes in two shifts and making parents' consent mandatory. There have been controversies over how school managements have sought to completely shift the onus on parents while holding no responsibility. Re-starting of schools and colleges is a major decision that needs a thorough plan of protocol and logistics.
In the case of Goa, there appears to be no firm plan of action once again. If schools or colleges are to be reopened anytime soon, the government should have ensured 100 per cent vaccine coverage to all teaching and non-teaching staff. We had a bitter experience last year. With vaccines available now, the primary goal should have been to insulate the entire education sector on a priority basis, just like the frontline healthcare workers. By reducing the gap at this stage, it appears that the decision comes as an afterthought. The intensity of the virus has slowed down considerably since July, and the government had almost two months to plan.
While the talk has been largely of elections, politics, government formation and development, education continues to be relegated to the sidelines. We are over two months into the new academic year, and students and teachers are made to tread the same beaten path, one which witnessed chaos and confusion last year. The talk is about better connectivity, more towers and an Information Technology revolution, but there has been no respite on basic bandwidth.
Ironically, Goa has missed all its self-imposed deadlines of completing vaccination, beginning from July and achieving complete vaccination before November appears a pipe-dream given the pace at which it is undertaken. As of now, the State has fully vaccinated around 4 lakh people. There are over 61 per cent of people who have taken only a single dose while nearly 5 per cent have not taken even the first dose of the vaccine.
Pausing the vaccination for two days during the Ganesh Chaturthi will certainly provide a welcome break to the Covid warriors, but this again highlights the fact that we don't have a backup plan to relieve the fatigued healthcare workforce. Strangely, Goa is taking a vaccination break, unheard of in any part of the world.
