Goa sees 200 cases a day, highest in 5 months

PANAJI: Goa reported its highest daily Covid-19 case count in five months after it saw 200 fresh infections on Wednesday. The quick spike, from 60-odd daily cases in the first week of March to more than twice that number now, has doctors pleading for caution.
Goa’s positivity rate, too, is among the country’s highest with 8.5% as against the national average of 5%.
State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar termed the rise “alarming”, and said the graph is set to rise further in the days to come. “What we see is a rising trend, and we really don’t know how much further it will go. Even last year, nobody could predict the upper margin,” he said.
“Covid-19 has been giving us surprise after surprise,” Betodkar said.
“The biggest surprise is what Maharashtra is going through right now. Most bigger states and cities are showing a rise. Looking at their graph, I think our cases will go up too, but the advantage we have is that all departments have the experience to handle the Covid-19 situation, unlike last year.”
When Goa reported seven cases in March 2020, he said they believed Goa would have around 100 cases, but then a day came when Goa reported 700 cases in one day.
However, he said much will depend on support from the public, he said, specifying that the biggest support people can offer is getting themselves vaccinated without delay. Health minister Vishwajit Rane too pleaded with citizens to observe Covid-appropriate behaviours.
“In view of the rising cases in the state, it is my humble appeal to citizens to follow all SOPs of wearing a mask & following strict social distancing norms as per government directions,” he posted. “We will interact with the expert committee on further steps to be taken to keep the virus under control.”
Betodkar, too, said, “Police and district collectors have been told by the government to crack down on people not wearing masks and not maintaining social distancing in public.”
On Thursday, the mortality count rose to 831, with the death of a 64-year-old man from Margao at Goa Medical College (GMC). Also, 36 persons were hospitalised on Wednesday.