PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that the coastal state will not go for a lockdown as the move will disrupt the economic activities in the state. The CM stressed upon vaccination and COVID-19 appropriate behaviour to stem the rise of coronavirus.
"Imposing a lockdown was not a solution to bring down Covid-19 related cases," Sawant said.
"Lockdown is not a solution. We do not want to disturb people. After the last lockdown, we had to start labour camps and the economy had dropped to zero. Revenue collection had dropped. Lockdown will not lead to reduction in corona. The solution is vaccination, social distancing, wearing of masks and exercising precautions," the Goa Chief Minister said.
Sawant also said that the enforcement agencies has been instructed to fine an individual multiple times a day if he is found violating COVID-19 norms on more than one occasion.
"I have told the police and the Collector's office that if a person is seen violating (SOPs) in public places repeatedly, the person can be fined more than once," Sawant said, adding that police stations had been directed to fine more than 500 persons (a day).
There are 2,471 COVID-19 active cases in the state. The death toll in Goa is 838.