In one week, Covid-19 positive cases go from Mangor Hill to Goa’s remote corners

PANAJI: As Covid-19 cases continued to spike in the state, it has now become evident that the spread of the virus has not been restricted to Vasco’s Mangor Hill, which accounted for 22 of the 29 fresh cases reported on Tuesday.
From a remote ward of Canacona in the south to Sattari taluka in the north, people have been tested positive for Covid-19. If the state government and the health secretary are to be believed, they are all linked to Mangor Hill.
Though the government has not made available any official data, TOI put together the spread of Covid-19 in the state (see map), with some of the villages going in for a self-imposed lockdown.
From Keri and Morle in Sattari taluka to Usgao-Ganjem panchayat in Ponda, residents have decided to shut shops and houses and stay indoors, some for as many as 14 days to secure themselves from the virus.
Besides the health workers, a doctor from Mangor Hill, who had treated the fisherman and his wife—the first cases of Covid positive from Mangor Hill and had tested negative initially—was among the day’s positives.
“He and his family were in quarantine since he was tested on the first day. We wanted to repeat his test, and today, he tested positive,” health secretary Nila Mohanan said.
Even as the virus spread from the containment zone to other areas of port town such as Shantinagar, New Vaddem, Baina, Mestawaddo, Khariawada, Bogda, Orulem and even up to Cansaulim, Mohanan said the focus of the government continues to be Mangor Hill.
To prove her point, she said a high-level team of bureaucrats led by chief secretary Parimal Rai carried out an inspection of the containment zone.
“We inspected the arrangements in place and received their feedback,” she said, adding that as per people’s demands, the government has decided to extend the out-patient department (OPD) from two to three hours a day.
The people of the area also requested the supply of some routine medication. She said that volunteers in the area have been asked to draw up lists and share it with the local administration. She also said that while the requirement of essentials is taken care off, some people wanted grocery shops to open.
“We didn’t find any logic in their request,” she said. “They were told that they should share details of essential requirements with the local administration. The collector assured them that rations would be provided at 4pm, and it was done. But some people refused to accept it.”
Apart from Mangor Hill, the day’s tally also included seven travellers—five arrived in Goa by road, four from Maharashtra and one from Karnataka. The other two, from Delhi and Aurangabad, came by train, Mohanan said.
Meanwhile, reacting to apprehensions about the changed standard operating procedure (SOP), Mohanan said there is no need for concern about the government doing away with mandatory testing. The changed SOP, she said, is a strategic move by the government, adding that the removal of mandatory testing doesn’t mean the state is less cautious.
“We see it as a strategic and sustainable move,” she said. “We need to have a very focused approach towards testing. We are losing focus of the area within Goa that needs to be looked at, while we take samples of all those who are coming in from across the borders. A case in point is Mangor Hill.”
She said the health department has constantly been screening people at Mangor Hill, and on Tuesday itself, over 200 persons were screened. Similarly, she said there are other focal points where the health department “needs to strategise and ensure that there is no outbreak”.
Mohanan also said the department needs to ensure that suspected cases are tested and results are made available on time. “We need to have a very focused approach from now on,” she said.
“The more we load our laboratories with samples of each and every person entering the state, the less will we be able to focus on mitigation of the virus in the state,” she said.