The government has imposed a slew of restrictions in light of the continuous steep rise in the new Covid-19 cases as well as the worrying mortality rate in the state. The restrictions will reportedly be in place till April 30 after which there will be a review. However the elections to the five municipalities of Mapusa, Margao, Mormugao, Sanguem and Quepem were held as scheduled on April 23 while counting is to be taken up tomorrow, Monday, April 26. Since both the polling date and the date of counting falls within the period during which restriction will be in force, all pandemic related protocol needs to be strictly adhered to. It is observed that after the results are declared the winning candidate usually takes a massive victory rally along with the supporters which moves along the road. There needs to be restrictions in place on such victory rallies as it could result in being a ‘super spreader’ of the virus. The winning candidate needs to thank the supporters by using the social media and refrain from meeting the citizens individually as also holding public meetings.
