Goa is paying for the blunder of not containing Mangor Hill
With the highest ever number of COVID cases detected on Thursday in the state, the frightening tally crossed the five figure mark. The surge of 570 COVID cases beat the previous high of 506 recorded on August 9. The number of COVID cases in Goa now stands at 10,494 of which 3,491 are active. The state has also witnessed 91 deaths as on Thursday. Slum-like settlements continue to be the hotspots of coronavirus in Goa, as has been the case in other states, with the majority of cases reported from these areas. Though slum-like areas are still the hotspots, the virus appears to have been able to cross the barriers and spread its tentacles even in the areas where better-off people live. With four hundred to five hundred cases being recorded on a daily basis since last Sunday, it appears that the state’s efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus have failed. The state would have to rework its strategy to tackle the situation.
The virus, which remained confined to a few hotspots, especially in slums across the country during the prolonged nationwide lockdown since March 25, apparently made its way to other localities as the restrictions on movement were relaxed in early May. The number of COVID cases which were in two figures jumped to three figures during the lockdown and reached the four figure mark for the first time on April 14 with 1,463 cases recorded. However, after the curbs imposed during the lockdown were relaxed, the number of coronavirus cases has been multiplying on a daily basis. The country recorded five figure COVID cases on June 12 when 10,956 came to be detected. Since then the increase in COVID cases has been in five figures per day with the highest number of 66,999 cases recorded on August 13. India has been recording the highest number of COVID cases in the world since the beginning of August overtaking the United States of America and Brazil, which have higher cumulative cases compared to us.
The slums across the country have been considered as hotspots of coronavirus with Dharavi in Mumbai topping the list. A study revealed that more than half the residents of slums in Mumbai who were tested were found positive for the coronavirus. Having failed to take preventive steps to contain the spread, the authorities have sought to blame the unfortunate dwellers in these areas for spreading the virus. Had the authorities ensured proper sanitation and availability of basic amenities in these areas, the spread of virus and other communicable diseases could have been contained to a large extent. However, despite its tag of being a super spreader, the people of Dharavi cooperated with the authorities of Maharashtra government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to not only contain the virus but also emerge as a role model in the country as well as in the world to effectively tackle the virus and contain the spread of the contagious virus. The Dharavi model was replicated in other slums of Mumbai and appears to have succeeded in tackling the virus.
Goa was placed well in tackling the spread of coronavirus till the Mangor Hill episode happened. Had the authorities listened to the growing chorus of locals and others in the state, Goa could have contained the spread of the virus that is threatening to snowball into a major crisis. The failure of the state authorities to contain the virus caused its spread all over the state. The situation appears to be grim now and the authorities need to come up with better strategies to ensure that the pandemic does not cause more misery. With the virus having made its way into housing societies and other residential areas, even if the state government were to use the Dharavi model to contain it and restrict it to slums it may not yield the same results as has been the case in Mumbai. The virus spread can also be attributed to the negligence of people in following the safety guidelines and the failure of the authorities to enforce the guidelines. The government needs to be stricter on making people adhere to safety precautions such as social distancing and mask wearing.
