Ahead of the celebrations of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Goa, the state has decided to formulate new SOPs to keep the COVID-19 cases in check. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday, stated that he has directed deputy collectors to meet the organisers of public Ganeshutsav mandals and submit a report. The reviews of this document will help the administration to formulate the operating protocols, accordingly.
SOPs to check on the virus load during Ganesh Chaturthi in Goa
Ganesh Chaturthi is an annual street festival that is celebrated with great zest in Goa. This year, the 10-day Hindu festival will be falling between September 1 and September 10. With warnings of an upcoming ‘third wave’ around this time, the Goa officials has decided to formulate precautionary SOPs to limit the avenues of virus spread and transmission.
“Ganesh Chaturthi is organised in a big way in Goa. I have already instructed the deputy collectors to get in touch with the ‘sarvajanik’ Ganesh Utsav organisers, carry out consultations and then submit a report. We have to decide the SOP (for the festival) by taking all the people into confidence,” the Chief Minister said.
Besides, people should follow all the COVID norms and avoid overcrowding in public spaces during the festival. The Chief Minister has urged people to adhere to the protocols in view of the increasing rate of new cases in Goa. “People should take the second dose of the vaccine, as it is the only solution,” the CM said.
On Friday, around 67 fresh coronavirus cases and 101 recoveries were reported in Goa, marking its active tally at 957 cases. As per reports, 2 virus fatalities were also recorded here in the past 24 hours. As for vaccination, the state has achieved around 71.7% first dose coverage here and has administered a total of 14,28,569. Of this, around 3,21,163 shots – that total for 20.5% of Goa’s population, are the second dose jab.
