Here’s what occurred: On October 8 the government issued a notification in the Official Gazette bringing COVID-19 treatment under DDSSY. Three days later, on October 11, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane announced that after consultations with Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant the decision has been kept in abeyance and a fresh notification canceling the earlier one would be issued.
The defence of the government on the withdrawal of COVID-19 treatment under DDSSY is that the private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients are offering packages, whose rates have been capped and notified by the government, while treatment for any COVID-19 patient is offered free of cost in all State-run facilities for which lakhs of rupees are being spent. This explanation, however, has not been accepted by the opposition that has slammed the government for bowing to the pressure of the corporate hospitals. Significantly, the rates for treatment under DDSSY were less than 50 per cent of the capped rates for treatment, which private hospitals had said were not feasible for them. The opposition may, therefore, not be wrong in its assessment.
At the current stage of the pandemic, the State cannot afford such decisions and their reversals by the government. Goa is the State with the highest number of persons per million to have been affected by COVID-19 and also the first to have 2 per cent of its population to have been infected by the virus. As of October 12, the confirmed cases stood at 38,674 and the deaths at 511. This works out to a total of 25,782 persons per million having got infected by COVID-19 in the State as against the all India figure that stands at around 5115 cases per million. Similarly, the deaths per million in Goa stand at 340 as against the all India figure of 79. In both cases, Goa is faring far worse than the rest of the country.
This is hardly surprising as since March this year when cases began to show up in the State and even before, it has been a series of wrong decisions and backtracking on the part of the government. Take some recent instances. Even if one ignores the barbs of the opposition, how does a government justify notifying the treatment of the disease under a medical insurance scheme only to just days later withdraw it? How does a government defend its action of announcing the capped rates for COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals and then days later revise the rates following a backlash from the people? These are instances of a government that has not put any thought into its actions and appears to be experimenting with managing the pandemic.
Whether it be the insurance scheme or medical facilities, this trial and error method has to stop and the government must display all seriousness in tackling the spread of the virus. Currently there is a slight drop in the daily rise in COVID-19 cases but efforts have to be made to bring this down further. This is important but somehow the government appears to have diverted its attention to other matters. This cannot continue and the administration has to get a grip on managing the pandemic before it turns too late, if it isn’t already. Can we display some seriousness so that we can emerge from the pandemic instead of getting further caught up in its grip?
