Goa: Covid infrastructure ready at Bambolim stadium

PANAJI: In the wake of rising number of Covid-19 cases in Goa, a 275-bed care centre has been established at the Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee stadium in Bambolim.
“The Covid care centre was activated on Wednesday. We have done up the infrastructure and handed it to the directorate of health services (DHS),” North Goa deputy collector, Guru Dessai said.

Built during the third edition of the Lusofonia Games in 2014, the stadium was used for concerts and other major events in the state prior to the lockdown.
Workers from the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) will maintain the records at the stadium while the DHS will take care of medical emergencies, nodal officer at the centre, Dr Kedar Raikar said.
“The stadium will have only asymptomatic positive patients. The patients will be sent back home on recovery or to the Covid hospital if they show symptoms,” he said.
There are demarcated beds for male and female patients at the stadium, as well as for paediatrics and senior citizens. A separate enclosure of 20 beds has been earmarked for relatives and caretakers of very old patients. All these beds have been placed in the central area of the hall.
The doctors, nurses and paramedics deployed at this centre will be from the primary or urban health centres at Panaji, Khorlim, Porvorim and Chimbel. These health centres will be sending their staff over to the stadium on rotation basis. In addition to this, staff will be outsourced from hospitals as and when required.
Along with the existing toilets at the stadium, about 12 to 14 mobile toilets have been added for the convenience of the users. The toilets have been segregated for use of Covid patients and the frontline workers and housekeeping staff. “The toilets are going to be manned to ensure that there is no rushing,” Raikar said.
Food for patients has been outsourced by the collectorate office. The menu will vary based on the patient’s health conditions. For instance, there will be a separate diet for diabetic patients, or patients with hypertension, senior citizens, etc.
A recreational area has also been arranged for the asymptomatic patients to keep themselves busy.
There is a separate agency hired for the disposal of bio-medical waste. Also, the staff have been trained to collect, segregate and dispose of waste responsibly. The corporation of the city of Panaji has been roped in to collect the dry waste after proper handling by the Covid care centre’s staff.