Goa curfew extended till 5th July due to rising threat of Delta Plus variant of COVID-19

Earlier, the curfew in Goa was scheduled to be lifted in the morning hours of June 28. However, on Saturday, the Chief Minister of Goa informed via Twitter that the state-level curfew will be extended till 5th July. This decision has been taken as a precautionary measure against the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19. While no cases of this new strain have been reported in Goa as of yet, its neighbouring state Maharashtra has recorded 21 cases, which is the highest tally noted among all states in India.

Private labs to set up testing facilities

The private laboratories of Goa have been roped in to set up testing facilities as a safety measure against the fresh strain of COVID-19. Further, it has been reported that monitoring at all borders has been doubly strengthened, after a rise in the tally of individual infected with the Delta Plus strain of coronavirus has been noted in the neighbouring state.

In light of this event, the Chief Minister informed- "The Government of Goa has decided to extend the State Level Curfew till 7 AM, July 05, 2021." He has also stated that any person entering the state borders is found to be COVID positive, then that individual will be kept in an isolation facility or admitted to a hospital until they recover. This might result in inconveniences but, as of now, the protection of state residents is the government's priority.

Current case tally in Goa

Until now, no cases of the Delta Plus variant have been reported in the coastal state. However, 21 such cases have been reported in Maharashtra which is touted as the highest tally among all states in the country. Moreover, on 26 June, Goa reported 235 new infection cases which pushed the caseload in the state to 1,65,883 and the total number of vaccinated individuals across the state is 8,56,143.