Amid the ebbing swell of the second wave of COVID infection, Goa’s Chief Minister on Wednesday announced that the state will be undergoing a 4-day lockdown, starting from 10 PM on Thursday to 7 AM Monday. All activities, except essential services and industrial production, will be suspended during this tenure the CM stated. He also pacified the general public, stating that there is no need to panic-buy or hoard supplies, as the lockdown will be lifted on Monday.
A lockdown situation in Goa
The Goa cabinet has imposed a lockdown in the coastal state in a bid to break the chain of coronavirus infection, that has been soaring to new peaks, each day. A lockdown was already stated as necessary by several state authorities to curb the positivity ratio and rising toll and consequently, a 4-day prohibition on all activity and movement has been announced here.
“The lockdown has been imposed in order to break the Covid-19 chain,” the Chief Minister said, adding that the district administration would be issuing a formal notification in this regard later on Wednesday. He stated that all essential services such as grocery stores, pharmacies, hotels and restaurant kitchens have been exempted from the lockdown restrictions.
During these 4 days of lockdown, all tourist activities, including casinos will remain closed. The Chief Minister has appealed to the tourists to stay where they are as all public transport will be stopped. A similar appeal has been issued for all the migrant labourers working here. They have been assured to not leave the state as the lockdown would be withdrawn on Monday, restoring normalcy.
The COVID toll surge in Goa
In the last few days, Goa has witnessed an escalating rise of new cases and COVID-19 mortality. As per the Health Department records, more than 30 people are dying every day from COVID-19 related complications. The state currently has 16,591 active cases, while 1,086 persons have died from Covid-19, since the outbreak of the pandemic.
