'Open all of Goa's hotels, restaurants & bars; reduce curfew': Goa hoteliers to CM Sawant

As Goa's tourism industry is adversely affected due to the Coronavirus situation, the state's hoteliers' committee met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday. The committee members submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister and requested to re-open all restaurants, bars and hotels by July 1 with a minimum Standard operating procedure (SOPs). The current SOPs put in place by the government are practically 'impossible', Gaurish Dhond, President of All Goa Hoteliers Association said.

"Goa is the preferred destination for most Indians and they would love to come here," Dhond said.

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Demands by the hoteliers

Some of the key demands put forth by the hoteliers to Chief Minister include; resumption of bars attached to restaurants, extending the 9 PM curfew by two hours and opening of all restaurants by July 1. As liquor outlets had been opened as per SOP, allow restaurants to open their attached bars too as most restaurants in Goa couldn't function without a bar, Dhond said.

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COVID-19 situation in Goa

The number of coronavirus positive cases in Goa went up to 951 on Wednesday with 42 more people testing positive for the infection, a health official said. However, the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state is 660, he said.

A total of 84 people were discharged from Covid Care facilities after recovery on Wednesday. So far, 289 people have been discharged, the official said. Of the 1,991 samples tested so far, 1,274 were found negative, while reports of 672 are still awaited.

So far, two persons have died due to the infection in Goa, the official said. As per the data, the COVID-19 cases were found in different parts of the state, including rural areas like Sankhali, Morlem and suburban areas, including few pockets in Vasco city in South Goa.

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(With inputs from agency) (Image PTI)