Panaji, Aug 20 (IANS): With Covid-19 cases piling up in the state, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Goans to stay at home during the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival and hoped the deity, who is symbolic of strength and intellect, would help Goa tide over the crisis.

Speaking at a Home department function here, Sawant said, "Celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in a grand way, but wear masks, maintain social distancing and use sanitisers as much as you can. Ganesh will give us strength and intellect to overcome Covid."

"Avoid visiting people's homes. If you visit others' homes for 'aarti', social distancing will not be maintained and Covid may spread further," Sawant added.

Ganesh Chaturthi is the state's most popular Hindu festival.

On August 9, the Goa government had issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the festival on August 22, urging people not to engage in public celebration of the event as far as possible and avoid visiting homes on the occasion.

On Thursday, India's smallest state Goa crossed 12,600 Covid cases while active cases stood at 3,838. As many as 124 persons have died after testing Covid-19 positive.