COVID-19: Goa committee decides for strict enforcement, preventive protocols

The State Executive Committee which met on Friday under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary decided for strict enforcement activities and preventive protocols across Goa taking into account the spread of the cases uniformly, reported more from high density urban areas.

The Committee while directing the Health Department, Police and Department of Information and Publicity to carry out aggressive awareness campaigns stressed the need for Collectors and Police to strictly implement the existing preventive guidelines to enforce covid appropriate behaviour including levying of fines for violations.

SEC urged for implementing the norm of track-test-treat and to ramp up testing facilities to ensure higher testing rate and timely declaration of RT-PCR test results to contain timely identify the number of potential positive cases.

The Committee also directed the Collectors to issue advisory to all possible crowded places, hotels, restaurants, gyms, marriage halls, industries, mall operators, etc to enforce the covid appropriate behaviour and guidelines issued from time to time and to undertake random checks to ensure strict adherence of the SOPs.

It decided that other Covid hospitals and Covid Care Centre should be kept ready for receiving more patients in case the need arises as Secretary Health informed that both the District Hospitals have more than half of their bed capacity occupied. Collectors were directed to identify hotels willing for paid Covid Care Centres for those who seek such facility for institutional isolation.

It also emphasized for carrying out aggressive vaccination drive more so by encouraging public servants and others(as FLWs) who are involved in Covid management and those who are 45 years and above apart from FLWs, HCWs, etc to opt for vaccination to build confidence amongst the general public.

Goa registered 280 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours with 81 recoveries and one death, said the state health department on Friday.

The cumulative count of the infections in the state has reached 58,584. The state has witnessed 55,838 recoveries so far while the death toll has mounted to 832.

( With inputs from ANI )