Covid-19 scare in Goa: Cancel Shigmo parades, suspend classes says minister Vishwajit Rane

PANAJI: Health minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday asked chief minister Pramod Sawant to cancel Shigmo parades and suspend classes up to Class IX in schools across the state as pre-emptive measures against the spread of Covid-19. He told reporters that the chief minister would decide on the matter on Saturday.
“We are lucky that we have not got a single Covid-19 positive case till now and we must take stringent measures,” he said.
The suggestion to suspend classes up to Class IX was made in light of queries and concerns by a growing number of parents, Rane said. He, however, said that the public examination for Classes X and XII should be conducted.
The health minister, who has been advising against mass gatherings in the state, said festival parades and even weddings in hotels should be called off.
High-level meet today to decide on precautions
CM Pramod Sawant has convened a high-level meet on Covid-19 on Saturday to decide on precautions to be taken following the Centre’s guidelines.
The meeting will also deliberate on the overall action plan to be adopted in view of rising Covid-19 cases, a statement by the CMO stated.
The health secretary, district collectors, director of health services, state surveillance officer, health and medical officers of community health centres, primary health centres, urban health centres in the districts, and officers have been authorised officials under the act.
‘The Goa Epidemic Disease, Covid-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019)’ regulations came into force with the invocation of the act and will remain in force for a year.
The health minister, however, said the state may withdraw application of the act if the spread of the disease is contained in the next two to three months.
The regulations necessitate government as well as private hospitals to have flu corners that are segregated from the common OPD area for screening of suspected Covid-19 cases. The hospital should identify separate beds for isolation if needed.
The regulations also mandate that all hospitals, during screening of patients, record their travel history and find out if they had come in contact with a suspected or confirmed case of Covid–19.
If the person has any such history linked to the last 14 days, and he is asymptomatic, home quarantine of 14 days is recommended from the day of exposure.
If person is symptomatic, he must be isolated in a hospital and tested for Covid-19. Information of such cases should be passed on to health officers at all health centres.
A separate notification was also issued on Friday making Covid-19 and H1N1 notifiable diseases.