It is rather disheartening to learn that at a time when the European and African countries have placed a blanket ban on to and fro UK flights, our government has not scaled down operations at the Dabolim airport to contain the raging new variant of the UK COVID strain, resulting in the arriving passengers testing positive for Covid-19.
While nine passengers were detected with the new mutant strain, one young UK returnee died in Chandor two days after arrival while five other cases have been detected in Canacona, Sanguem and Curtorim. This is a poor reflection of the state of affairs on the part of the health authorities to check the rampant surge of the new manifestation of the virus.
To compound to the problem, the government has also turned a blind eye to the arrival of domestic tourists to ring in the new year contrary to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to enforce night curfew on the New Year celebrations, the nocturnal revellers breached every rule of law as was evident by strewn broken beer bottles on the beaches in the aftermath of partying. It was business as usual for star hotels and events sponsors to rake in the mullah at the cost of public health.
The local population by and large are a disciplined lot who take abundant precaution in observing all the protocols and SOPs to check the spread of the deadly virus and that could be one of the reasons why Goa is faring reasonably well when compared with other states on the virus front.
If at all there could be an exponential rise in COVID related cases in future, the onus would rest on the state authorities for their laxity in enforcing controls by imposing restrictions on air, road and rail travel to and from COVID prone destinations as is being done by other states.
EVERETTE ASSIS TELLES, Comba-Margao
