For the second day running Goa showed a sharp upswing with 170 new Covid cases reported while the infectivity rates went off the charts, zooming past 5.25% compared to less than 2% over the past month.
In the absence of widespread testing (December 26 saw just 1073 tests being conducted), it is unclear whether the current numbers are driven by the Omicron variant or is it still Delta at work.
This might be attributed to people enjoying the festive season with friends and family and fewer testing centres being open but it is time we took the bull by the horns and ramped up testing across the board.
Compared to Karnataka which does 20,000 tests daily, our numbers are a pittance though we receive four times the number of tourists our neighbouring state does.
A minimum target of 5000 tests, along with proportionate genome sequencing assays should be set as Goa is witnessing a massive influx of visitors.
Increased surveillance at crowded public places like cinema halls, stadiums, malls, banquet halls and markets is a must, also the recently announced SOPs should be strictly implemented without fear or favour; the next super-spreader event could very well be a beach party, a shopping festival, a marriage reception or an election rally.
If we are to get a semblance of control over the rampaging Corona virus it has to be...testing.
