The breakneck speed at which the BJP Govt has opened up the state, shows that CM Pramod Sawant is working on a hidden agenda. It appears that Sawant, having given up all efforts to either control the spread or ensure treatment of the infected, is only waiting for herd immunity to develop in Goa. But it is well known that before herd immunity is reached, many people will lose their lives. CM Sawant should reveal how many such Goan lives he has decided to put on the line simply because he cannot be bothered to govern.
In a shocking declaration, the CM has thrown open the borders to everyone, with no testing required. He says this is as per MHA guidelines. But MHA guidelines have only removed the requirement of an e-pass, and Point No. 6 of the guidelines dated 29/08/20 expressly state that movement of people is still to be regulated as per SOPs in place (see attached). Goa’s last SOP required either a covid test, or covid-negative certificate, or 14-day quarantine. But even as of today, the district administration has not issued an updated SOP. This absence of adhering to even basic administrative processes exposes Sawant’s complete lack of interest in governance.
Most importantly, it is well known that the state is completely ill-equipped to handle any further rise in cases. The CM has completely shifted the blame on people, even lying that there is a spike in cases was to Ganesh Chaturthi, despite his own bulletins showing that the cases touched 400-500 per day many days before the festival. Opening the borders even with testing had led to a steep rise in cases, and with this new move to allow travellers in without any controls is likely to make the cases spiral out of control.
After failing to manage Covid, it is now clear that Pramod Sawant has even stopped trying, and left Goans to die.
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