Past 3 days have seen 297 cases, 35% of Goa’s active caseload

PANAJI: The state’s active Covid-19 tally shot up to 853 on Saturday after 108 new cases were detected, the highest single-day spike since March. The past three days have seen 297 new cases — 35% of the state’s active caseload — and have also been the state’s worst days so far in terms of cases, with 95 positives reported on Thursday and 94 on Friday. Saturday also saw 53 patients cured and discharged.
Among the new cases reported includes an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel posted at the Goa assembly complex in Porvorim.Speaker Rajesh Patnekar said he was posted at the complex’s gate, and that more than ten of his contacts also submitted their swab samples for testing. The positive case at the assembly came a day after the government decided to curtail the two-week monsoon session to just one day, on July 27.
Meanwhile, the last rites of the 45-year-old man from Khariavaddo, Vasco, and the 74-year-old woman from Curtorim, both of whom died on Friday, were conducted on Saturday.
The death of the Vasco man has stumped the state government. “He had a very mild fever when he came to the primary health centre, and his swabs were taken,” Mohanan said.
“His condition was not serious for him to be hospitalised, so he returned home.” She said that by the time the test results were out, he had died at his residence. “We are surprised by the entire course of events,” she said.
Mohanan was responding to a query on whether there was delay in picking him up after his test result returned positive. “There was no delay in intimating his family when his test result was received,” she said. When it was pointed out that there have been delays in picking up patients in the past, she said that the health department team has tried its best to avoid delays. “There may be a slight delay in picking up a person on a day when there are many cases,” she said. “But the moment the result is received, the family is intimated, asked to take all precautions, and the patient is picked up in the shortest possible time.”
However, she admitted to there being a shortage of ambulances in the state. The state executive committee discussed this issue at length on Saturday. “Several options are being discussed,” she said.
As cases continue to rise at an alarming pace, the state is trying to enhance Covid care facilities in the state. Mohanan said that the government is on the verge of using the hostels of Goa Engineering College and others in its Farmagudi campus as care centres. The collector has already started the process to mobilise resources, she said. As of Saturday, she said the state can accommodate 855 active patients, including the 85 who are being treated at the Covid hospital in Margao.