PANAJI
Health Minister on Saturday revealed that the expert committee of the Health Department has proposed strict action against hotels, nightclubs and other establishments from the hospitality sector for not following the Covid SOPs during the ongoing tourist season.
He warned of the possibility of a spike in Covid cases again owing to this reckless behaviour in public places.
Speaking to media after a review meeting of the expert committee, he stated, “the committee has proposed and we will soon put up a file before government about action against hotels and other establishments who do not ensure that people wear masks and maintain social distancing on their premises. If you cannot ensure this, don’t have the event. I will have to recommend strict action against these nightclubs if they do not follow the SOPs laid down. Just because we are being lenient does not mean you can behave irresponsibly.”
He urged tourists and stakeholders from the tourism sector to refrain from burdening the health infrastructure of the State when the new mutated strain of coronavirus is looming over the world. “There is a possibility of a spike in Covid cases in January in Goa. Why do you want to put the lives of doctors at risk and infect health workers? Why do you want to put a load on the health infrastructure in Goa?” he asked.
The irate Health Minister also voiced the need for immediately increasing the fine for not wearing a mask to at least Rs 500 on the beaches. “These people will not understand otherwise. We cannot allow people to come and out Goa at risk. Tourists are coming to the state as they consider Goa safe. We want tourism to sustain and businesses to thrive. However, this has to be done keeping in mind the safety of the people,” he stated.
Meanwhile, it was disclosed that the Health Department has now fast-tracked the enhancing of the State’s Covid testing capacity by procuring another two new RT-PCR testing machines in North and South district hospital, each with a capacity of testing 500 samples. Presently, the testing facilities in Goa can handle up to 1,860-odd samples a day. With the addition of these machines, the daily testing capacity will touch 2,860.
“3,000 to 3,500 testing capacity is being targeted as a part of preparation for the new strain. The Government of India is insisting that at least 70% should be RT-PCR and 30% can be antigen testing. The purchase committee will take a decision to procure the RT-PCR machines with open-ended platforms for kits so that the variable cost of kits can be reduced,” he informed.
Health Minister also said that so far, 38 out of 976 travellers to Goa from United Kingdom have tested positive for Covid-19. However, none of them have tested positive for the new strain.
“We will also be exploring possibility of testing for the new strain of coronavirus within Goa so as to eliminate the waiting period for test results from National Institute of Virology, Pune,” he said.
As a part of this preparation, 150 beds will be added to the 550-bedded facility at South Goa District Hospital in Margao where the ICU unit has been made functional from Saturday onwards.
