The virus that has defined our age has had a very close and intense relationship with Goa for a couple of weeks. The number of cases per day was increasing by the hundreds. It looked really bad. It was felt that Goa had lost control in the fight against the virus. But then in the past couple of days, the number of people recovering from the virus far outstripped those found with it. It has remained a consistent trend. Does it mean Goa has managed to get control of the situation and the situation will continue to improve? Or rather worryingly is this is a false dawn. Dr Shekhar Salkar, Consulting Oncologist at Manipal Hospital Panaji felt the situation was improving but it would be too early to say that a corner had been turned. He said “The tests conducted earlier would take time and the person who was tested would be walking all over the place. Now the antigen tests take just twenty minutes. The person will be isolated immediately and if necessary the family will be isolated too. Now the spread is much less. It is much better than before. I strongly believe that the next five days are crucial for the state. The reason being during Ganesh Chaturthi there must have been a mingling of people and we will know its effects in the next couple of days”. He felt if there was no perceptible jump in the number of cases then it would mean that by the end of next month, Goa would be in safe territory. He, however, advised caution saying that people would have to continue to follow the sops for a couple of months or even a year to ensure no harm came to them. When asked if the existing infrastructure would be able to handle a situation if the virus returned with a vengeance, he said “The load will have to be borne by the government hospitals. The private sector hospitals have around 75 beds and GMC will have to do handle most of the cases. The government hospitals around Goa have around 1400 beds for moderate to severe cases. Then there are the Covid care centres which have another 1000 beds. The government is now encouraging self-isolation at home. I believe the infrastructure is present but the load will have to be borne by the government-run hospitals”. Sagar Utagi Director of Mothercare Margao and Chikitsa Medical Services Verna Industrial Estate was candid when he said they did not have the infrastructure to have symptomatic COVID cases which could lead to complications. He said “We do not have the adequate infrastructure. As of now, the government has taken adequate steps to control the spread of asymptomatic COVID cases. The govt has taken enough steps for isolation by hiring hotels and working with various organization to help contain the spread of the disease. I strongly feel society and the citizens of India have to play a role in disciplining themselves by following the sops”. A doctor employed at GMC who wanted to stay anonymous felt the drop in the number of new cases were welcome but felt the real picture would be known in a couple of days because as she put it the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi could throw a spanner in the works what withal the meeting both scheduled and unscheduled that would take place. Dr Rajesh Naik owner of Royal Hospital in Margao echoed similar sentiments when he said “I have not read the statistics but if the number of recoveries is more than those of infected ones then it is good news. However, I feel we will get the correct picture in the next couple of days. The festival means people mingling and it could lead to a spike in cases over the weekend”. When asked if the infrastructure was present to handle the increase if it happened, he said the government would have to handle it. They had already made moves by ensuring there were facilities available with three wards at the Goa Medical College and the new hospital in Ponda. He ended by saying the next few days would be crucial. One can only hope things work out fine in the next couple of days and the people of Goa will be able to gradually move towards living life in the new normal. But before we celebrate, remember we had zero cases in March. That should be a sobering thought to protect us against complacency.
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