After a horrible month of May, when Goa added 64,614 COVID-19 cases to its tally, which is 41.50 per cent of the total cases since March last year, Goa enters the month of June with the daily cases showing a huge drop from the figure at the start of last month. After crossing an unbelievable 4000 new cases a day, Goa, by the end of the month was reporting daily cases of less than 700, that had been the highest that it had climbed in the first wave. The declining trend, which has been quick, is a clear indication that the second wave is ebbing, a positive sign, but the virulence of the strain, the deaths it has caused and is causing, and the suffering that has gone along with it, will not allow us to easily forget the month of May 2021.
It has been a horrendous summer. The months of April and May 2021 have together added 97,627 cases to the total, which is 62.71 per cent of the total confirmed cases in the State. Goa cannot ignore the fact that the past two months have been the worst for the State and that much of this had to do with the government overlooking the fact of rising cases until the last few days of April and then taking measures. The devastating second wave made the first wave of last year appear to be just a teaser of what was going to occur next and perhaps that is why the authorities took time to realise the enormity of the situation and act to impose restrictions and bring down the cases.
The result of ignoring the rise in cases in March, led to the spurt in the next two months bringing unprecedented misery upon the people. With cases declining, it is likely that the current curfew will be lifted in the next week, or at least some of the restrictions will be relaxed. However, just because cases are now decreasing and the restrictions will be eased, it shouldn’t lead to the State and the people taking it easy once again. In fact Goa has to be extra alert to any signs of the cases increasing again so as to quickly and early bring in measures so as to avoid a repeat of what the State experienced in April and May. A repeat of these two months would be disastrous for the State.
The time now is for the State government to put in place the facilities and systems that will be required to meet the third wave. An expert committee has been formed based on the prediction that the next wave could target children. As the first wave had petered down, the ESI hospital that had been the first designated facility as a COVID hospital was decommissioned, and as cases had risen in the second wave hospitals had run out of beds forcing patients to sleep on stretchers and on the ground. This cannot repeat and at the first signs of a spurt in cases, the government has to gear up to meet the needs of the patients.
However, now, as cases decrease and the pressure on the medical facilities eases, the government should consider giving the overworked doctors, nurses and other medical staff a break. They have done a tremendous job and for all of them – whether working in the government facilities or in the private sector – it has been a harrowing time. They require a period of rest to recover from the stress that they have been subjected to. It hasn’t been easy for them. And if there is a third wave, Goa needs them to be at their best. The mistakes made in planning for the second wave and then after it had set upon the State cannot be repeated.
