The 61-day fishing ban finally ends and the new fishing season has begun, starting August 1. However, fishing activities may not take place in a big way immediately. The workers from other states are still on their way to the fishing jetties, and, secondly, the weather conditions are not very conducive for deep-sea fishing. Be that as it may, as the migrant workers start trickling in from other states as the new fishing gets underway, certain precautions need to be taken. These workers need to be tested for Covid-19 infection as also screened for vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria. It is learned that the Cutbona fishing jetty plays host to around 4,000 migrant labourers during the peak fishing season. Screening these workers is a massive task which the health officials need to carry out. It is pertinent to note that the novel coronavirus is still active in other states, especially in Kerala and Karnataka. With the prospect of the third wave hitting the country looming large, it would be necessary to screen these labourers coming from other states for the virus. If (God forbid) there are some Covid-19 positive cases among the migrant labourers, the fishing jetties could turn out to be super-spreaders. Precaution needs to be taken by screening the workers as and when they enter the state.
