Ministers in the Goa government on Wednesday unanimously expressed that the lockdown should be extended till April 30.
At a Cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, ministers said continuing the lockdown would help contain the number of coronavirus cases; Goa has seven.
“It was recommended that State borders should continue to be sealed. I feel Section 144 should continue till the COVID-19 issue is over,” said Health Minister Viswajit Rane.
Recommendations of the Cabinet meeting will be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will take the decision, Calangute MLA and Minister Michael Lobo said.
Dr. Sawant said whatever the Union government decides will be agreeable to Goa. “PM Modi is scheduled to hold another videoconference on April 11 with regard to lockdown extension and its modalities,” he said.
The Chief Minister requested people to cooperate with those conducting a house-to-house COVID-19 survey. “It should not be taken in a bad way, people should support it. There is no risk to people who will visit houses. They will be provided with masks, gloves and other material,” he said.
Dr. Sawant said there were a lot of calls from people who said home repairs had been held up. “The government will announce its decision on April 13. All these issues will be handled after April 14,” he said.
Meanwhile, Goa Bagayatdar, the largest State cooperative, will procure cashew from farmers starting Thursday, and the growers will get proper rates for their produce, the CM said. He said all BJP MLAs will donate 30% of their salary to the COVID-19 fund for the entire year.
Pneumonia, not COVID-19 death
Dr. Sawant said the death of a 38-year-old admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday was due to pneumonia-diabetes complications, and not COVID-19.
Dr. Sawant said the deceased had returned from the U.S. on March 22 and had been admitted to hospital on March 26. Two tests in Goa and one at the National Institute of Virology Pune had proven negative for COVID-19, and he was discharged.
On April 3, he was admitted to hospital again after his condition turned serious. The deceased had diabetes, pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
