PANJIM: Amidst the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, it wouldn’t be wrong to state that September was a ‘killer month’ as more than 54 per cent of the COVID-19 deaths that occurred in Goa were recorded during this month.
Simultaneously, cases rose from 17,418 on August 31 to 33,418 on September 30, an increase of 16,000 cases in a month, with over 2 per cent of the Goan population now infected by the virus.
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At least 233 patients, out of a cumulative figure of 428, succumbed to the virus in September. Salcette taluka recorded 49 deaths of which 17 were in Margao; besides 18 deaths were of residents of Vasco and 10 from the State capital Panjim.
The State had recorded four deaths in June, with the first two deaths on June 22, while July saw 41 deaths, that rose to 150 in August and then to 233 last month. Interestingly, the first eight days of September saw 66 COVID-19 deaths as against 28 patients dying during the same period of the preceding month.
Zuarinagar, that was amongst the worst hit due to COVID-19, has fortunately not recorded high fatalities with four deaths in September. One of the worst hit last month was Bardez taluka with around 47 deaths, while Ponda and Bicholim had around 20 deaths each and Pernem saw 11 residents losing their lives in the same month.
Four non-Goans also lost their lives in September, of whom two hailed from Maharashtra and one each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The active cases also escalated from 3962 on September 1 to 4865 on September 30. There is, however, some hope as the rate of recovery stands at over 80 per cent. Out of 33,418 positive cases until the last day of September, 28,125 patients have recovered. With this, the death rate stands at 1.28 per cent.
