Goa, sun and sand tourist destination, has India's highest Covid rate

Almost one in two tests return positive in Goa

India’s Goa state, a hugely popular tourist destination on the western coast, has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the country, with up to one in every two people testing positive in recent weeks, government officials said on Wednesday.

Leaders of the small state, ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing BJP party, were being blamed by the opposition and medical experts for ignoring pandemic protocols and allowing entry to tens of thousands of tourists this year in a bid to generate revenue.

Two government-appointed medical officials working at the state’s COVID-19 data collection centre in the capital Panjim said the