Goa shuts schools, colleges; imposes night curfew amid surge in Covid cases

Panaji, Jan 03: The Goa government is set to imposed from 11 pm and will continue till 6 am as witnessed a jump in daily COVID-19 cases post-New Year celebrations. The government also decided to close schools and colleges till January 26 in the wake of a rise in COVID-19 cases in the coastal state.

A total of 388 cases were detected on Sunday from 3,604 tests, a positivity rate (cases per 100 test) of 10.7 per cent.

"It has been decided to close the physical sessions for classes 8 and 9 in schools from tomorrow till January 26," Shekhar Salkar, a member of the Task Force, told reporters in Panaji.

Students of classes 11 and 12 would have to attend the school to take the vaccine against COVID-19.

"Once they are vaccinated, they need not attend the classes till January 26," Salkar said. The colleges in the coastal state would also be shut till January 26, he said.

The official further said the order for imposing night curfew between 11 pm and 6 am everyday will be issued by the state administration either on Monday or Tuesday.

The weekly COVID-19 positivity in the state is around five per cent due to which the restrictions have been imposed, he said.

The state government would also enforce restrictions on indoor activities, he said.

The official also said that though the number of COVID-19 cases in the state was high, the deaths and hospitalisation rate were low.

with PTI inputs