In view of less positivity rate Covid-19 cases, the expert committee has advised resuming economic activities with 100% capacity, said Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday. The government will take the decision and will resume the activities including the operation of casinos at full capacity.

Given the declining COVID-19 graph in Goa, the experts’ committee of the state government on Monday (28 February) recommended that access to indoor activities be allowed to the fully-vaccinated people and all restrictions on such facilities lifted, a member said.

If accepted, the recommendation will provide a big relief to indoor activities like casinos and theatres which are now operated at 50% capacity. The committee has also recommended that schools be allowed to function with a hundred percent capacity.

Amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Goa, the government in December 2021 issued an order restricting casinos to operate only to 50 percent capacity with entry restricted to people who are fully vaccinated or those carrying a negative RTPCR test report. Only people who are fully vaccinated and possess a certificate of both doses with 15 days gap since the administration of the second dose will be allowed to enter casinos.

The casino industry has seen a complete washout of two quarters this financial year. Casinos that closed in March-April 2021 in the backdrop of the second wave, reopened in September.

Casino industry integral and indispensable to Goa’s tourism: Shrinivas Nayak

Meanwhile, Goa on Wednesday (2 March) recorded 16 new cases of COVID-19 and three casualties due to the infection, an official from the state health department said. With this, the tally of infections in the coastal state has reached 2,45,056, while the toll stood at 3,825.