COVID-19 surge: Congress wants extension of lockdown in Goa

Paramilitary soldiers patrol along a street during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Goa. Pic/AFP

Leader of Opposition in the Goa Assembly Digambar Kamat on Sunday said the four-day lockdown imposed in the state needs to be extended in view of the "grim situation" in the coastal state. Following a very high test positivity rate, Goa went into a lockdown on Friday and it will remain applicable till 6 am on Monday. All essential services have been exempted from the curbs.

In a statement issued here, Congress leader Kamat claimed people of Goa are scared in the wake of the "unstoppable rise" in COVID-19 cases and the increasing number of deaths. "As the situation is grim, extending lockdown with strict enforcement is the only option left," he said. He demanded that the BJP-led state government announce a Rs 100 crore package for the marginalised sector to minimise the effect of the lockdown.

He also said the need of the hour is to hand over the COVID-19 management to a "task force of experts from the civil society and the Army". The task force must be empowered with financial powers to take decisions in the best interest of the people, he said. "Enough is enough, let us not play with the innocent lives any more," Kamat stated.

He said once the monsoon season starts, things will become more challenging. "We need to anticipate frequent power cuts, road blockages and flooding which will seriously affect COVID-19 management," he said. Kamat also said vaccines against COVID-19 should be procured on a war-footing and the first dose should be administered to all eligible people by mid-July this year. On Saturday, Goa recorded 2,303 new coronavirus infection, taking its caseload to 93,355, while 54 deaths pushed the toll to 1,222, as per official data.

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