PANAJI
The chasm between Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and his health minister came to the fore once again on New Year's Eve when the former overruled his minister's move to clamp down a night curfew as a caution against possible surge in the outbreak of Covid in the State which is brimming with tourists.
Sawant ruled out imposing night curfew anywhere in Goa on December 31 and January 1. He said on Thursday that the State government has not declared any night curfew either today or tomorrow but cautioned tourists and New Year revellers to follow SOPs including to maintain physical distancing, using sanitisers and wearing masks.
Earlier, multiple States including the national capital Delhi and neighbouring Karnataka resorted to night curfews to put the brakes on expected super-spreaders of the dreaded virus due to New Year celebrations.
Health Minister, early on Thursday morning, suggested that Goa too may be headed for night curfew. Sources in his health ministry said, a file had in fact been moved with a proposal for night curfew.
He also posted on his official page on one of the social media sites: "Spoke to the Hon'ble CM on imposing night curfew in the State on lines of the state of Delhi & Karnataka. The file is already in process. Strict SOPs is the need of the hour as Goa is a tourist State."
The minister said that he received a letter from the Union health secretary, which asked each state government to ensure that SOPs and strict protocols are laid down considering the coronavirus situation at the local level.
'Since Goa is a tourist state, it is imperative to have strict SOPs in place, so that we are able to sustain the tourism activities as per the Covid-19 guidelines,' he said.
A senior health department official in Goa said that the Union health ministry sent a letter to the state government on Thursday, asking it impose the curbs.
In the letter, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan called for a strict vigil in Goa to curb all potential 'super spreader' events and places where crowds may gather to celebrate the New Year.
It also referred to its earlier communication wherein it had said that states and Union Territories may impose restrictions, such as night curfew, at the local level based on their assessment of the situation to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Governments have been cautious ever since the United Kingdom reported infections with a new mutated variant of the dreaded Coronavirus which is reportedly more contagious than the original.
On Wednesday, Sawant himself had reported that 37 of the 900-odd passengers who arrived from the UK since November 25 and some of their contacts had tested positive and are being treated in isolation at the ESI hospital in Margao.
