Necessity of sensitisation
I am a senior citizen, living by myself. I felt unwell. So, I went to my GP whom I have known over the years. He examined me and finding that I have temperature, he was completely panicky. He said, “I must go to GMC should the fever persist”. He said, “He is worried since he checked me”.
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On returning home, my maid informed me, nobody goes to the doctor these days because all the doctors run away should you have a fever. My neighbour also said her elderly mother went to the health centre because she has a bad infection in her foot, and she was in pain with an accompanying fever. But she was told not to come with so “small” issues, we are living with Covid-19.
A fever is a basic symptom that comes with any affliction/ailment. A common citizen besides dealing with multitude of problems in the present scenario should not feel hesitant to seek medical help on account of fever and anxiety on the part of medical practitioners. Under such circumstances, the medical practitioners are likely to overlook, perhaps, some major health complications that are affecting the patient.
In view of this, I feel that the state government should consider an orientation and sensitisation course for the health givers so that patients receive a humane touch and healing. Senior doctor/s who might feel particularly vulnerable should, perhaps, retire”.
Swatee Nair, Verem
Technical director from aboard
This is in response to the appointment of Brahmanand Sankwalkar as indicated in your Herald’s Café dated June 10. While congratulating Brahmanand for appointing him as Chairman of GFDC which is a right choice but I disagree with him when he said “he would not consider getting anyone from abroad for the post of Technical Director”.
In 1966 when Sesa Goa’s big man Conzen a German, came to take me for Sesa, Dr Gustavo Monteiro who had vast experience of football as the president of Goa Football Association, told Conzen that “if you want to develop your Sesa Goa football nicely then bring one coach even a mediocre level from Germany and then you see the change in your team. Further he said there are no coaches in India to develop our soccer”.
In front of Gulf soccer India is nothing, Gulf and Middle East including other Arab countries developed their soccer only when they recruited Coaches from abroad namely West and South America. Their system and techniques and discipline are totally different where we cannot compete. I have seen very little of them in Kuwait and from there I realized what a vast difference between coaches from abroad and our coaches. With the assistance of Western and South American coaches the Arabs reached to Olympics and World Cups while we are still dreaming.
Hence, I request my friend Brahmanand to apply his mind carefully on hiring a technical director from abroad.
A.Veronica Fernandes, Candolim
Fast-spreading coronavirus cases
The Dr Pramod Sawant-led BJP government should be solely held responsible for committing a biggest blunder of reopening all the borders, resuming flights, trains to bring in infected people from all the red-zone states in the name of re-starting all types of industries and for officially allowing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic on a very large scale, not just in places like Vasco but even in all the rural areas of Goa.
Couldn’t this government keep our state borders sealed or ban the entry of flights/trains for some more time to fully protect the health of Goans maintaining a strict discipline/hygiene/social distancing almost everywhere and keep a tiny state like Goa in the green zone?
Now, what is the point in holding all-party meetings/frequent press-conferences after putting Goans in deep trouble and now still telling everyone not to panic after already bringing in large number of people from all the red-zone states to freely spread the coronavirus in Goa? Looks like the government seems to be more interested in deliberately bringing only the migrant outsiders (as most ministers from this government too are fully dependent on their votes during every election) from all the red-zone states on top priority basis to run it’s so-called “Economy” and officially slowly destroying the unique identity of Goa by even playing with the lives/health of Goans during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. There is a famous saying and which says that “Prevention is better than cure”.
Unfortunately, the government of the day do not seem to believe in such a simple sensible saying but enjoy in inviting self trouble by officially allowing the invisible outside enemy to strike us on a quiet in our own territory otherwise today we would not have seen the rise in so many sudden fast-spreading coronavirus cases in Goa.
God alone should therefore give some common sense for those elected and currently pretending to fight a war against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Goa to really save Goans.
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
Airlines fraudulence in the time of Covid
When lockdown was called off to some extent all kinds of people both affluent and low income groups of people booked their ticket to reach their families after two months lockdown.
Airlines opened up their booking with flying times but they continued five times cancellations. Where low income group of people gathered money somehow they cannot go and now many hotels employers are also telling their workers to leave their place. Even people from Nepal are now being harassed by both sides by employer insisting and airlines by cancelling their booking repeatedly. In this time of Covid govt should have refund policy to customer to reach their destination soon as people who have already lost their jobs for livelihood.
In this case I am also a victim of AirAsia. I booked a ticket in May it was about to fly on May 31, after cancelling 5 times they have now given time of June 15. This is like waiting for eternity.
Birabar Nayak, Anjuna
Covid-19 test for garbage collectors
In the absence of lockdown being announced by the state government, citizens in several cities and villages have gone into a self-imposed lockdown. The movement of people and vehicles has reduced drastically. Citizens may not have any guests visiting their homes. However the only person visiting the homes every morning could be the door-to-door garbage collector. It is observed that these garbage collectors do not wear gloves and some could be wearing the face-mask below the chin.
It is understood that a house-keeping staff of the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) tested positive for Covid-19 which has forced the staff of the civic body to undergo the test for the virus. It seems prudent for every door-to-door garbage collector to undergo the Covid-19 test as a precautionary measure. If (God forbid) these garbage collectors are asymptomatic carriers of the virus, they could be spreading it to several people even though these people do not come out of their homes.
In this regard it is understood that citizens of Vasco, who live in housing societies and buildings, have decided to hand over the garbage to the garbage collector at the gate of the building so that the garbage-collector does not have to visit every flat in the building or the housing society.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
