Active COVID cases in Goa move up to 31

Panaji: Goa’s COVID-19 count reached 38 after nine fresh confirmed cases of the dreaded virus were reported in the state on Monday. The total tally of active COVID-19 cases in Goa has risen to 31.

As per the health bulletin issued by Directorate of Health Services (DHS), of the nine persons who tested positive for the deadly virus on Monday, four persons travelled by train from Maharashtra, four travelled by a train from Delhi and one came to Goa by road from Karnataka.

All the nine COVID positive patients have been shifted to the ESI Hospital in Margao, which is designated for treating COVID positive patients.

Till date, Goa has seen 38 confirmed cases of COVID-19 of which seven patients have recovered from the disease. 

The DHS has said that the health condition of all the COVID positive patients is ‘stable’ and they are being given the required treatment.

Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, while interacting with media persons in Panaji, said there is no community transmission in Goa and added that people ought to be cautious, as there is no specific treatment for COVID-19.

“There are some glitches in the testing protocol which the government has learnt and is trying to improve on. Our testing facilities are sufficient to deal with any situation,” Rane said.

He said that as there is a spike in the COVID-19 cases, the state government is in the process of procuring more ventilators. “We are getting 25 ventilators by the end of this month and another 100 by June 12…so we will have 240 ventilators that will be spread accordingly,” he said. 

Meanwhile, deputy director of health and medical superintendent of Hospicio Hospital Dr Ira Almeida Monday said that the ESI Hospital in Margao has a capacity of 100 beds which can be extended to another 80. Hence, she opined that there is no need to convert the new South District Hospital as a COVID-19 hospital.

When questioned on the procedure employed to track the contacts or co-travellers of the train passengers, who test positive after de-boarding at the railway stations in Goa, Almeida said that the state’s health authorities contact their counterparts in the respective states where the train travels and provide the required information.