Goa: ‘Curfew may continue with fewer curbs’

PANAJI: With the Covid-19 positivity rate hovering between three and four per cent, and with at least four lives being lost to the virus each day, the state is not yet in the safe zone, chief minister Pramod Sawant said when asked if the current statewide curfew would be extended.
Sawant appeared to hint that the curfew would be continued, but with some additional relaxations. A final decision is likely by Saturday night or Sunday.
“Whether the lockdown will be extended or not will be known on Saturday,” the chief minister said.
“People must realise one thing, everything cannot be opened right now,” said Sawant while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event.
“The positivity rate is still hovering between three and four per cent and even now, there are three to four deaths per day. Due to this, we may have to consider extending the state curfew by a few more days,” the chief minister said.
Sawant said that the state authorities will review the situation and see what kind of relaxations could be introduced and which curbs would remain in force in the week ahead.
Goa reported 220 new cases on Friday with 17 new hospitalisations. Two people lost their lives to Covid-19 while the recovery rate neared 97%.
Cortalim, Ponda and Margao have the highest number of active cases in the state.