Panaji: The State Expert Committee in Covid-19, in his meeting on Saturday, recommended strict regulations for Ganesh Chaturthi, including prohibiting all types of procession.
It also suggests that the priests be allowed to do Pooja only if they come with a negative certificate of RT-PCR.
A large number of priests came to Goa from the neighboring district of Karnataka and Maharashtra to do Pooja during Chaturthi, because the priests available locally were unable to handle the increase in workload.
The committee also unanimously ruled that the Ganesh Chaturthi procession which was part of a discouraged Sarvajanic celebration, a senior member of the Committee to TI.
He also said that and implementing authority must ensure that no crowding whatever happens during the festival time, it is also recommended that the artist be carried out online.
“Because it is not possible to check every house, we have suggested that people do artists online,” said the member.
For immersion, he said, a maximum of two members of a family can be permitted on soaking sites, and this should be done around someone’s residence without procession and crowding, he said.
No child under the age of 18 must be permitted in Chitrashalas, places where idol ganesh is sold.
In addition to the negative RT-PCR report that is mandatory for those who enter the cave from Kerala, the panel recommends that they be placed in quarantine five days (both paid or in government institutions) and repeat the test on the fifth day.
They must be allowed to go only if the test report is negative, he said.
The panel in round voice decided that no group activities related to tourists were permitted.
It stated that they would revisit this decision two weeks after Ganesh Chaturthi only if the level of front was descended, and if there was no increase in cases or hotspots in the country reported.
“The country’s positioning level directs around 2%, and around 20 hotspots have been reported in the last two weeks, so there is no room to allow tourism activities that will encourage crowding,” he added.
Over the past few days, the casino lobby has put pressure on the government to allow offshore casinos.
Experts also highlight urgency in establishing a virological lab for genome sequencing in Goa for faster results, and to be able to store a new variant under the check before the outbreak occurs.
Earlier this week, TOI reported that the government received the confirmation of the Delta variant plus the first cave.