Hi FN, Sure thing. Doing so below. Appreciate your time!
Goa’s Selectively Targeted Battle Against COVID is Counter Productive As of April 24th, Goa has a total of 12,078 active cases in the State, 1540 of which are new infections. So what is going wrong? Many things. It simply cannot be narrowed down to a single factor. But there is, however, one particular aspect of our fight against COVID that might be holding us back. To understand it, let’s take two unrelated hypotheticals of scenarios that are understandably likely, and weigh them to see how Goa is tackling COVID at the moment. In Situation One, a group of seven friends come to Goa on Holiday. They take the flight and they don’t have to turn in a COVID negative certificate (as the law is during the writing of this article). These tourists enter Goa, stay in one of our Hotels, step out to a Pub in the evening, a Cinema hall next afternoon, the Casino after that. Let’s say, three of them catch COVID. Or let’s say, they carried COVID from where they arrived. These few people, have now spread COVID to our waiters, staff and the common Goan public (the number of those infected by such persons or contact tracing them will be a very strenuous exercise) either unknowingly or without a care. In Situation Two, let us consider a young Goan boy riding a motorbike to a grocery store or his work place or anywhere for that matter, without a mask. He is stopped and asked to pay a fine. (Police in Valpoi, for example, claim to have collected a total of Rs 1,79,000 by booking around 895 people this month according to Goa News Hub) so it is most likely that the boy will pay the fine. Fair enough. However, if a person can rightfully, still, with cases rising by the day, go and sit with his or her group of friends in a pub or a bar or a restaurant, for hours without a mask, why the elaborate targeting of people on bikes and in cars? Yes, COVID can spread in vehicles as well. Yes, everyone must follow the law. But what kind of law stems from such blatantly imbalanced logic? What will motivate a Goan to follow every single norm when he or she sees how tourists or even Goans, are allowed to drink, eat, party without any consequential protocols? You could argue that these restaurants are asked to follow the rules too. Alright. But can you eat wearing a mask? Can you drink? No, and these places are still operational, even if at 50%. But pedestrians, bikers and drivers, who might be following all the norms otherwise, can be fined for a moment’s negligence. Is this a show of strength? Is this a way of saying, “Look! We are doing our job!”? Because anybody with an iota of common sense will know that this sort of obvious scapegoating is counter productive in the fight against COVID. The other side of this matter is the overwhelming presence of social media. You cannot hide how SOPs and protocols are flouted at a party or a wedding, both of which are still allowed, even if limited to a certain number. Videos and photographs of people dancing, singing and what not, in Goa, are readily available almost every single day. You only have to refresh your feed. So a common Goenkar can actually think, “I am careful. I don’t do this and that. I stay at home. I work remotely or at an office that follows all the protocols. I don’t meet most of my friends. My parents stay inside. But wait, I have to wear a mask for 30-45 minutes or whatever it may be, inside a car or on a bike, because I am not in a restaurant or a pub? So the only places where I am allowed to disregard rules are places that are considered to be ‘super spreading zones’?” Where is the rationality in that? It is exceptional that we stop people on the streets and ask them to mask up. It can even be considered as good police work. Bravo. But isn’t it right for these Goenkars to bring up and question the Police or the Administration about how they are more in the wrong than a person dining or partying in the State? It is widely believed that going on a walk or being inside a car with people whom you live, are far less riskier in spreading COVID than meeting people in a ‘super spreader zone’ like a bar or a pub. It is also common knowledge that a wedding, where it is hard to see a person with a mask and hard to expect a police invasion, or a subsequent fine, can be much more hazardous at spreading COVID in the State than three people walking outdoors without a mask. Goa must win its battle against COVID. And Goa will. I consider Goans to be people who understand the basic Science behind COVID protocols even if there are exceptions here and there. However, the law will be more successful at curbing this deadly virus if it is unified and balanced, not hypocritical. People are more motivated to act wisely and be precautious if they don’t see us turning a blind eye to activities that are far more dangerous in escalating the spread of COVID than the ones they are fined for. I know plenty of Goans who take a respectable amount of precautions and have done so since the pandemic hit. A good way to deal with not wearing masks in a car or on a bike is warning such people. Fine them, maybe for repeated acts or when it is clear that they are endangering others. Not for small instances. Remember, they know what all goes on without a mask inside the State. So keep them by your side. Keep them in your prayers. That is the only way we will win. Ronak Kamat Writer, Film Maker Ronak Kamat > On 24-Apr-2021, at 6:37 PM, Frederick Noronha <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Ronak, please send the article as plain text, within the body of the email. > It should go through. > As attachments, it will get blocked. Thanks! FN > > ---------- Forwarded message --------- > From: Ronak Kamat <[email protected]> > Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2021 at 13:19 > Subject: [Goanet] Article on Goa’s battle against COVID by Ronak Kamat > To: <[email protected]> > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > > > Ronak Kamat > > > -- > > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > _/ FN * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا +91-9822122436 > _/ See a different Goa here, via > _/ https://youtube.com/c/frederickfnnoronha > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
