Given the current pandemic situation, the Goa government announced the reopening of the state and issued fresh guidelines. Casinos, which are an important part of Goa tourism, also reopened on Monday. But according to the fresh guidelines, only fully vaccinated people or those carrying their negative RT PCR test reports would be allowed entry.
The announcement was made by the state Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday wherein he said the government’s expert committee decided to restart casinos, spas, massage parlours as the virus cases have declined. The CM also said that the state is not yet ready to host popular events such as the Sunburn music festival.
Sawant said, “The (state government’s) expert committee compared the (Covid-19) positivity rate over the last two-three weeks and it has been under 2 percent. In order to revive economic activity and tourism activity, casinos have been allowed to reopen on Monday with strict SOPs (standard operating procedures)”.
As of now, the state is known to have six offshore casinos set on the Mandovi River. More than 12 casinos run inside leading hotels. Casinos have played an important role in generating employment for locals along with providing good revenue to the government.
State government is hoping that with the reopening of casinos, hotels, restaurants and taxis will see a jump in their businesses as peak tourist season is approaching. As per sources, Goa’s average annual income in licence fees from casinos is more than INR 320 crore.
Till Saturday, there were 771 active cases of Coronavirus in Goa.
