PANJIM: As Goa entered an extended weekend lockdown from Thursday night, the State unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) urged Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant to extend the restrictions by 15 days or more to have the “break the chain” effect of COVID-19.
In a statement, IMA Goa president Dr Vinayayk Buvaji welcomed the decision and said that extension of the lockdown would decrease the workload on the already compromised health system in the State, in private and government sectors.
“We wish the lockdown may be extended by another 15 days or more to have the break the chain effect, which will definitely help in making the COVID graph go into a downward trend,” Buvaji said.
He said that IMA wishes the cases come down steeply in the shortest possible time.
“Learning from the pandemic wave last year, where the lockdown was for an extended period of time, which was implemented after lots of deliberations and discussions with the administrative experts, IMA would be in favour of a similar extended lockdown for at least 15 days from May 3, till the positivity (rate) comes down from existing 50 per cent to 10 per cent,” Buvaji said.
The IMA president said that the health care system will be able to manage better with a lower positivity rate to decrease the mortality.
IMA said that people at large had already made provisions for ‘minimal livability’ and were willing to accept an extension in lockdown. “Everyone has been making a provision for a minimal liveability. With the massively increasing Covid numbers, the mindset of the public is already primed for acceptance of a lockdown. On the contrary people are on a back foot to be in the public places with exceptions,” Buvaji said.
He said that the lockdown last year had not proved to be detrimental for normal living. “By now the economic self viability has been well calculated by every citizens of the State as well as India,” IMA added.
