In less than a week, the world of this Khariwado COVID victim’s family has come crashing

VASCO: A close-knit completely family of four, now three, have had their world turned upside down. The 58-year-old grocery store owner from Khariwado lived a contented simple life, believing that even as the rest of the world was in the hapless grip of the deadly virus, it wouldn’t enter his cocoon. Not even when neighbouring Mangor Hill became a red COVID hotspot, but has not reported any casualties.

On unlucky Monday, Goa lost two people to COVID. While the first was an 85-year-old man, who reportedly wasn’t tested on time, even as his family members were positive, the Khariwado death is heart-rending because the victim was 58 years old, had two grown-up children and a wife, who also tested positive and is in hospital.

The son works in a casino. The family’s source of income was the general store shop in Khariwado locality.

The children stare blankly into the future. For the moment, all they could do was ask their ward councillor, to see that their COVID positive mother is looked after well in hospital, a simple heartbreaking plea.

The ward councillor Lavina D’Souza said, “We are in shock as this is the first death case due to COVID in Vasco. While Mangor and other places are seeing so many cases, but to our shock, the first victim of COVID came from Khariwado.”

The deceased’s wife was also tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, a day before her husband’s death. 

“After we got her report yesterday, no ambulance was available throughout the day. Later, I asked for help from Councillor Krishna (Daji) Salkar and somehow we both managed to send her to the hospital,” she added.

 The deceased had a bypass heart surgery five years back. On June 16, he developed symptoms of coughing and on June 18 he was admitted to the hospital.

 D’Souza stated that on June 20, Saturday, she phoned the father of the children in hospital to check on him. He told her that he was on artificial oxygen and also expressed hope that he would recover shortly”.

D’Souza also mentioned that she is planning to ferry a vehicle announcing about the safety measures from COVID19 on Wednesday. 

Each day, the Health Department issues a COVID bulletin full of numbers of cases. But behind each case, there is a story of a family, a story of worry and in this case in Khariwado, of utmost grief and emptiness. It is the living and the COVID free who bear the maximum burden of this pandemic.