Panaji (Goa): Hundreds of people converged at a popular beach in Goa to celebrate the new year in complete disregard to the Covid-19 SOPs amid a rising number of infections across India.
A video of the gathering showing hundreds of people walking on a road near Baga Beach in north Goa has gone viral on social media triggering a backlash from the netizens.
A Twitter user Herman Gomes posted the video on his handle on Sunday (January 2): "This was Baga Beach in Goa, last night. Please take the Covid scenario seriously. This is a Royal welcome to the Covid wave Waving hand Mostly tourists.."
Reacting to the video, several netizens said it could become a "superspreader".
"Looking at this crowd, this can become a superspreader. Maharashtra/ Mumbai should put up some new set of rules for tourists coming from Goa, maybe a 7-day institutional quarantine," commented one Twitter user.
Goa recorded 388 cases from 3,604 tests and one death on Sunday even as the Covid-19 positivity rate crossed 10 per cent during the day, according to officials.
The sizable number of tourists that descended on Goa for the Christmas-New Year festival season could have been the reason for the surge in the positive cases, they said.
The addition during the day took the tally in the coastal state to 1,81,570, while one death increased the toll to 3,523, an official said. So far, 1,76,376 people have been discharged, including 54 on Sunday, leaving the state with an active tally of 1,671, the officials said.
Margao in South Goa leads with 211 active cases, followed by 201 in Panaji.
