Once demarcated as a ‘green zone’ and ready to open only for ‘rich tourists’, with 52 cases at the moment, Goa is now facing the brunt of the coronavirus impact.
All was good until a few days ago
With zero active cases at the start of this month, Goa was declared as a ‘Green Zone’ and major activities were allowed to reopen, including that of the industries. At that time, the tourism minister of Goa also had a few controversial statements to make.
Manohar Ajgaonkar had said: “We have to recreate the Goa of the 1960s to kickstart our tourism again. In the 1960s, Goa was beautiful and now in 2020 it is very different from more than 8 million visiting tourists.”
He had further added: “What we are trying to do along with experts, is to take Goa back to the 1960s. We do not want tourists who consume drugs, cook on our roads, or who create nuisance on beaches. We want good tourists who are wealthy and who can appreciate Goa and its culture.”
Regarding future steps, he had told: “We have to start off from zero. We are right actually in a minus-zero stage now. Until state-to-state level travel can happen we cannot do anything. I feel only when a vaccine is invented or a cure is developed, that tourism movement will begin to happen in Goa.”
52 cases in the state now
However, all the plans have been reportedly shelved, as the state now has a total of 52 cases. Out of this, 45 cases are active while 7 patients have already been cured of the infection. Meanwhile, screening and swab tests have been made mandatory for any entrant into the state.
Source: India Times
