PANAJI
In a tweet posted to hisofficial Twitter handle, Sawant stated, “I wish to inform all that I have beendetected Covid-19 positive. I am asymptomatic and hence have opted for homeisolation. I shall continue to discharge my duties working from home. Those whohave come in my close contact are advised to take the necessary precautions.”
47-year-old Sawant was tochair a meeting of the State cabinet on Wednesday which was cancelledimmediately following his diagnosis. Additionally, the Chief Minister’s Office(CMO) has issued a statement suspending all scheduled appointments and meetingstill further notice. All the officials and other employees posted at CMO, whocame in close contact with the CM in the recent days have been asked to isolateand to work from home. The release further adds that all regular operations ofthe CMO shall continue unhindered.
“Urgent and emergencygrievances if any can be mailed to [email protected] or sent on WhatsApp numbers9822199979 and 7972962973 for the needful action,” the release issued by CMOinformed.
According to the CM's socialmedia feed, he had a busy day as recently as Monday when he briefed the pressabout the state’s Covid management strategy, chaired a meeting at his officialresidence at Altinho to review Covid-19 management in Goa which was attended byHealth Minister Vishwajit Rane and Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate amongothers and also met the education secretary and directors to conduct the JointEntrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)exams.
Sawant is the third ChiefMinister in the country after Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa andHaryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to contract the virus. The other topgovernment officials from Goa who have previously tested positive include UnionMinister for AYUSH Shripad Naik, BJP MLAs Nilkanth Halarnkar and Clafasio Dias,Congress MLA Ravi Naik, MGP MLA Ramkrishna “Sudin” Dhavalikar, NCP MLAChurchill Alemao, Health Director Dr Jose D’Sa and Commissioner of NRI AffairsNarendra Sawaikar.
New single day highs in Goa: 636 cases, 10 deaths reported
Till date, 204 people have succumbed to the infection in Goawhile 18,642 persons have been confirmedas Covid positive from among the 2,04,103 whose swabs have been tested. Of the1,864 test reports received on Wednesday, almost 34 per cent samples testedpositive.
This means that after testingaround 13 to 15 per cent of its population, Goa’s positivity rate has crossednine per cent and it is likely that the state government will soon have toenhance its testing capacity even further in order to map the spread of thevirus, especially since the reopening of the state’s borders. The state’smortality rate presently stands at 1.4 per cent.
The deceased persons areresidents of Candolim, Fatorda, Baina, Vasco, Mapusa, Sao Jose de Areal,Bicholim, Nerul, Sakhali and New Vaddem in Vasco.
A 47-year-old man fromCandolim with comorbid conditions, brought dead on Tuesday to PHC Siolim, wasfound to be positive post-mortem. A 70 year-old man from Fatorda and a 76year-old woman from Baina in Vasco admitted at Goa Medical College and Hospitalat Bambolim with comorbid conditions expired on August 31. A 36-year-old manfrom Vasco admitted at GMC, passed away onTuesday. A 55 year-old man from Mapusa admitted at GMC with comorbidconditions expired on Tuesday.
A 30 year-old man from SaoJose do Areal and a 65 year-old from Bicholim admitted at GMC, died onWednesday. A 53 year-old woman from Nerul and a 64 year-old man from Sankhali,admitted at GMC, with comorbid conditions passed away on Wednesday. A 45year-old man from New Vaddem in Vasco, admitted at ESI hospital with co-morbidconditions, succumbed on Wednesday.
The active cases in Goapresently stand at 4,379 of whom 376 are under home isolation.
The number of recoveredpatients is 14,059.
