With 38 deaths in one day, Goa sets new record

PANAJI: Goa recorded 38 deaths on Monday, the highest single-day toll since the outbreak of the pandemic, taking the death toll up to 1,056. While the mortality rate dipped slightly to 34%, the state added 2,321 fresh cases.
Even with these grim numbers, the state government warned that the situation would worsen over the next few days. “In my interaction with experts, I have been told that we might lost 200-300 more lives per day in the next 10 days, the situation is really grim. We are doing our best to save lives,” health minister Vishwajit Rane said.
GMC dean and in-charge of Covid hospitals Dr S M Bandekar said that there are 150 patients on ventilator support. “This is the scenario because people are coming in late,” he said. “So, my humble request is please get tested immediately if you have symptoms. Things turn difficult once a patient is on a ventilator,” he said. “Early cure of the disease is the better solution.”
In the past five days, 112 people have succumbed to the infection, and a senior health official said that none of the Covid deaths reported so far had been vaccinated. Even as the government proclaims that it is doing its best to contain the virus, the state, as on Monday, has over 15,000 active cases.
Rane, in a series of tweets, said that he would meet CM Pramod Sawant to discuss what stringent measures would be put in place. “In addition to the measures, Goa needs to go under lockdown along the lines of other states like Maharashtra and Karnataka for a particular period. More than economic activities, the lives of the people matter,” he said.
A week ago, however, Rane had told reporters that he does not believe in lockdown, and that the state government should introduce only those measures that it can effectively implement.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Sawant, Bandekar, said, “Today we have more deaths, but most of them had come late and in a severe condition. There is nobody who has come early and died”.
He said he has been repeatedly stating that people should immediately get tested soon after developing symptoms, so that treatment can be started. “Early cure of the disease
When it was pointed out that patients could be presenting late because their test results are delayed, Bandekar said that the backlogs of the past few days have been cleared. "State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar told this to us at the meeting," he said.
Of the 38 deaths reported on Monday, three were declared brought dead to the hospital. A 67-year-old man from Sinquerim died within 20 minutes of admission, while a 77-year-old man from Aldona died 40 minutes after he was rushed to the North Goa district hospital. Seven people died less than 24 hours after they were admitted.
In the majority of Monday's mortalities, patients were late in seeking treatment, and their average hospital stay was less than a week. They were detected with either respiratory failure, full-blown Covid pneumonia, or acute respiratory failure.