PANAJI: Health minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday admitted that the number of
Covid-19 tests conducted daily in the state has dropped, and said that he would ensure that 2,000-2,500 are done every day.
“I have discussed this with chief minister Pramod Sawant,” said Rane after a meeting of an expert committee. Goa has been conducting an average of 1,000-1,200 tests a day (on Friday, it was 1,176). He also said Goa is doing “much better” compared to last month. “Mortalities have dropped to single digits,” he said.
Rane also said that the health department would specify how many days after a person tests positive should their family members undergo a
Covid test. “An SOP will be issued by the directorate of health services after consultation with the health secretary,” he said.
Currently, when a person tests positive, family members are asked to wait for 4-5 days before they’re tested. However, if any family member has symptoms, the test is done immediately.
Rane also said there’s no point in
testing “the whole village”, but people close to the positive case should be tested. He added that large companies that wish to test their employees should tie-up with private laboratories permitted to do Covid tests.
The health minister also said that testing at government health centres is meant only for citizens of Goa. “If any citizen feels they need to be tested, it will be allowed,” he said. “The DHS will issue directions in this regard.”
The number of samples tested daily dropped last month after a surge in testing in July and August. One of the reasons for this drop is that the government no longer tests all travellers, a protocol it followed during the first few months of the
pandemic.
Rane said that the health secretary had review meetings with health officials to examine if monitoring of patients in home isolation is being done thoroughly. Since the government permitted home isolation, many Covid-positive patients have opted for it.
“The meeting also saw discussions on whether patients are called regularly, how many calls are made to them, and whether it’s possible to increase the number of calls to patients,” he said, adding that GMC dean Dr S M Bandekar has also offered to chip in for monitoring patients in home isolation.