Priol panchayat to have its own quarantine facility

Ponda : Setting an example of COVID-19 management at the ground level, the Veling Priol Kunkolim village panchayat has decided to set up a well-equipped emergency quarantine facility at Mardol in the panchayat hall to house COVID positive patients from the village whose shifting gets delayed due to unavailability of ambulance or space in COVID care facilities.

A related decision was arrived at by the village panchayat at an urgent meeting held on Sunday after nine positive cases of COVID were detected in the Nagar area of the village in the last three days. With this decision, the Veling Priol Kunkolim panchayat becomes the first panchayat in the state to take such an initiative.

Sarpanch Pandurang Gaude said that after holding a three hour-long meeting under the guidance of associate professor of Goa Medical College and Hospital Dr Madhu Ghodkirekar, the panchayat decided to set up the quarantine facility at the panchayat hall in Mardol.

“To equip it properly, the panchayat has decided to purchase oximeters and PPE kits that will be required to take care of the coronavirus positive patients, who are housed in the facility,” he said and added that if required, the panchayat will also consider providing ambulance and meal facilities for the villagers.

The sarpanch said Dr Ghodkirekar helped the panchayat body clear their apprehensions about the virus. “We have taken this decision to help the government and fight unitedly against COVID. I feel every panchayat should take such steps to lessen the burden on the government,” he said.

Panch Varad Mardolkar said the panchayat’s decision came in the wake of a delay on the part of health authorities in shifting COVID patients from their places of residence to the COVID care facilities. He said the first two villagers, who had tested positive for the virus were shifted swiftly to a COVID care facility, but seven of their family members are yet to be shifted even after 48 hours of receipt of their reports. According to him, the reason is unavailability of beds at the COVID care facilities.

“People living in villages have big houses or in many cases, it is practically not possible for many people to isolate themselves from other family members. In such a situation, shifting of the positive patients instantly is necessary for safety of the other family members and villagers. Taking note of this, the village has taken the decision to provide its own quarantine facility for such people under the Disaster Management Act,” Mardolkar said.

According to Dr Ghodkirekar, under chapter six of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, there is a provision wherein local bodies can carry out relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in the affected areas in accordance with state and district plans. Beside this, the state’s disaster management authority has notified premises in villages, which can be used in a crisis situation. It includes rooms, halls of temples and schools in villages, he said.

“During the meeting, I informed the panchayat body about the situation that may arise due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state and guided them on the emergency need that will be required to tackle the situation at the ground level. The panchayat secretary too guided the panch members on the same and accordingly, the decision was taken by the panchayat,” Dr Ghodkirekar said.