A day after shying away from imposing any restrictions fearing disruption of the festive tourism peak despite a surge in cases, the Goa government has finally announced new SOPs.
Guests and staff at parties and other functions will have to produce RT-PCR for tests conducted not more than 72 hours or carry a full vaccination report.
Casinos, cinema halls, community halls, parks and other entertainment cannot operate beyond 50 percent. The State has seen a positivity rate jump to 5.25 % and all necessary pandemic related protocols have to be strictly followed.
It is pertinent to note that the first case of Omicron reported in the state was that of an 8-year-old boy who travelled from a foreign country. Contrary to belief that children are more immune to the virus than adults, it must be said that the transmission rate of the Omicron variant makes even children susceptible to the disease.
Goa had recently commenced physical classes for school and college students. In view of the spike in the number of Covid-19 cases it would be in the fitness of things to revert back to the online classes.
Parents could be apprehensive of sending their children to attend physical classes. Vaccination of children will commence only in the first week of January. Children could be vulnerable during the third wave of Covid which is expected to reach the peak in the country in February.
While many restrictions are in place in the state, the government needs to take the call to switch to online classes.
