Goa registered 506 new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Sunday, the highest in a 24-hour period so far with the surge nearly double the daily average cases registered in the state.
Before this, the highest detections in a single day was 348 recorded on August 5.
The state administration has now announced the setting up of a new dedicated Covid-19 hospital in the state and has promised better treatment protocols as the numbers have taken a turn for the worse.
“We will be setting up a new Covid-19 hospital at Sub-District Hospital, Ponda to cater to rising cases in the state,” Vishwajit Rane, Goa’s health minister, said.
Prior to this the state had only one dedicated hospital for Covid-19 with a capacity of 220 beds. The hospital soon filled up prompting the state government to set up care centres for asymptomatic patients. After they too filled up, the government allowed asymptomatic patients to home quarantine.
The new Covid-19 hospital, which will function out of the sub-district hospital in Ponda town in south Goa, has the capacity to cater to nearly 440 patients.
Goa has witnessed 8,712 Covid-19 cases of which 5,995 have recovered and 75 have succumbed while 2,642 are undergoing treatment either at care centres or at the state’s dedicated hospital.
“Our government is committed to provide the best healthcare facilities to the people in this challenging period. I urge everyone to come together and support the authorities to fight against this pandemic and avoid politicising issues related to healthcare,” chief minster Pramod Sawant said.
The government has rolled out rapid antigen test to help cope with the demand for tests despite their knack for false negatives but with a rider that they will only be used on asymptomatic patients.
