Goa recorded 44 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the health bulletin released on Thursday evening. Out of these, GMC alone accounted for 22 deaths. On Monday there were 23 deaths at GMC, and on Tuesday 26 more died while Wednesday reported a toll of 18.
Admissions to GMC may have dropped drastically, if Dean Shivanand Bandekar is to be believed, but this cannot be seen as a positive sign for the fact that deaths continue to be high. In fact this is an alarming situation because we believe that there is enough oxygen supply now. If the oxygen supply issue is resolved, can the Dean explain why deaths have not come down still? If oxygen shortage is not an issue now, then there has to be some explanation why the toll remains high? Or is the death toll forgotten with the installation of the oxygen tank?
Of the deaths reported on Thursday, nine patients have died within 24 hours of hospitalization, while two were brought in dead. The chief minister and the health authorities need to ponder over this very crucial aspect of the delay in patients getting treated in hospitals. Is it the horror inside hospitals that is keeping them away?
There are many questions still unanswered as dead bodies continue to pile up. We have tragedies unfolding right in front of us every single day. There can’t be complacency because the positivity rate is showing a dip or admissions to hospitals are declining. Fighting Covid is the single most important priority right now, and hence the focus cannot be lost for even one day.
The chief minister has embarked on ground visits to assess the damage caused by cyclone Tauktae. These optics can wait, with due respect to families of those who lost their lives and others who have been injured or suffered losses. Ministers, elected representatives, administrative heads or heads of disaster management teams can go about the job of assessment, overseeing restoration work or even handing over compensation.
With deaths continuing to range between 40 and 50 every day we still have a daunting task at hand. There are four of a family dead in Pernem within a span of 15 days, that's how brutal it gets. There is a child who recovered of Covid recently but lost her eye because of mucormycosis. There are spine-chilling scenes that continue to unfold in hospitals where people are pleading with folded hands for the lives of their dear and near ones.
The chief minister had assured stringent restrictions, and like the many other promises, there were plans to open the 'war room' to brainstorm and strategize. It appears that the war between the chief minister and the health minister is weighing down the Covid fight. We cannot take comfort in small dips in figures, or the vacancies of beds, on the contrary there’s every need to ease the pain that patients and families are going through.
