Covid rise: Govt hospitals start testing in-patients

Panaji: After attending a meeting called by Union health minister Mansukh Mandviya to review the Covid situation in the country, Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane directed a team at the Goa Medical College to activate the hospital’s genome sequencing machine.
“The secretary health has been notified about it. We have also begun testing in-patients at government hospitals to keep the situation under control,” said Rane.
The genome sequencing machine was procured for the GMC after the first wave due to the state’s reliance on outstation laboratories for genome sequencing.
The machine was installed in 2021, and staff trained, but it could not be commissioned due to lack of certification. Rane had declared at the time that it would be made operational immediately.
The only genome sequencing facility available in the state is at the North Goa district hospital. It can test 26 samples a day.
In government hospitals, Rane said, if needed, RT-PCR tests are also done. Genome sequencing is done as per the standard operating procedure (SOP).
If anyone requires a vaccination as a booster dose or for travel purposes, it should be provided, the health minister said.
Also, a mock drill will be conducted on April 10 and 11, as directed by the Union health minister, to gauge the state’s preparedness in the event covid-cases escalate further, he said.
Meanwhile, Goa reported 89 Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the active count to 841. There were 120 recoveries, while one patient was hospitalised, and the rest home-isolated.