As new cases mount, Covid centres run out of space in Goa

PANAJI: The state government has put up a brave front in the face of the rapid rise in Covid cases over the last fortnight, but with health officials finding it difficult to make place for new patients, medical practitioners in the state were of the opinion that it is high time the health department seriously considered home quarantining asymptomatic patients wherever possible.

The state has expanded Covid care facilities given the rising cases, but since the past few days, on an average nearly 200 new cases are being reported every day against the 100 recoveries a day.

“It is the need of the hour that asymptomatic patients be home quarantined,” city physician, Dr Oscar Rebelo, said.

Tuesday saw health officials struggling to find beds with all Covid care centres almost full to capacity. “We had a problem identifying beds in Covid care centres. I have been calling all centres since morning,” a health official from South Goa said.

However, a senior health official denied that the state was running out of place in Covid care facilities. “It is not true. We have activated more areas like that at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) hostel in Goa Engineering College campus, and the Shyamaprasad stadium has been kept ready for the last three to four days,” the official said.

On July 2, the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) issued revised guidelines for home isolation of very mild, pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. The official said that the government is yet to take a call regarding home quarantine protocols for asymptomatic cases as most are from extremely congested areas, where it may be difficult for individuals to be suitably isolated.

The guidelines of the MoHFW states that only those clinically diagnosed as very mild, pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic by a medical officer will be eligible for home isolation.

A person said he could have isolated himself at his residence and avoided burdening the infrastructure. “I don’t want to complain about the service, but given a choice, I would have stayed home. I was quarantined, and I had no symptoms at all,” he said.