Covid: Goa shuts down schools, colleges till January 26; night curfew soon

A night curfew from 11 pm to 6 am will be imposed in Goa soon

Goa’s party appears to be over for now, with the state government poised to clampdown a night curfew in the state, which saw a steep spike in the Covid infection rate on Monday.

The Goa government task force on Covid management earlier on Monday, also decided to shut down schools and colleges till January 26. A formal order related to the night curfew, school closure and fresh set of restrictions, is expected to be issued late on Monday or on Tuesday, Dr Shekhar Salkar, a member of the expert committee told reporters here.

“The government is also imposing a night curfew from 11 pm to 6 am. A formal order will follow tonight or tomorrow. There will also be restrictions imposed on indoor functions,” Salkar said. The decision of the task force comes days after the coastal belt in Goa was choc-a-bloc with tourists especially in beach villages like Baga, Calangute, Candolim, Morjim, Arambol, etc.

Civil society groups as well as the Opposition had slammed the state government for delay in imposing a clampdown on public activity, despite a surge in Covid cases.

Read more: 2,000 passengers stuck on Goa-bound cruise after crew tests Covid positive: Report

Dr Salkar also said that classes in schools and colleges would be shut down till January 26, but the vaccination programme in schools would continue.

“Classes in schools and colleges will be closed in Goa till January 26 in view of the rising Covid cases. Classes will be conducted online during the period,” Salkar said. “The vaccination programme will however continue in educational institutions. Students need not return to their institutions after they are vaccinated. The task force will review the situation before January 26,” Salkar said.

On Monday, when the state logged 631 new infections, 66 passengers onboard a Mumbai-Goa luxury cruise ship ‘Cordelia’ tested positive for Covid. The ship was anchored off Goa from Sunday, after one of its crew members tested positive for the infection.

According to the state health ministry, four new Omicron cases were detected in Goa on Monday, taking the state’s total tally of the variant to five.

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