PANAJI
The world has truly come a long way, since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. From when the first cases were detected to the current point of time where we have, to a great degree, dealt off with the second wave, Goa continues to try its best to adapt to the times and provide the services to tackle the Covid waves. Every obstacle and hardship has better prepared the administration to avoid those crises from taking place again.
A press release by the department of information states that during the critical time of oxygen shortages, due to the sudden spike in cases, CM Pramod Sawant took the decision of installing a 20,000-litre liquid medical oxygen tank at the GMC. The tank was set up at a quick pace with all civil work including piping and welding of the gas pipes being done at urgent. The tank went through all safety checks before it was utilised. Construction of another 6,000-litre LMO tank is also underway. The government also commissioned dura cylinders, used to prolong the duration of oxygen supply from a trolley.
The administration ensured the streamline of oxygen, and many corporations came forward to provide concentrators, tanks and other services/equipment. Step-up hospitals and Super specialty block (SSB) were commissioned to tackle the bed shortages state-wide. With GMC overloaded in a critical period, the patients were accommodated at SSB to reduce the load on GMC. South Goa District hospital was also pressed into service for tackling Covid, the press release added.
Patients who did not need oxygen support were accommodated at step-up hospitals like the one at Dr Shyma Prasad Mukherjee Stadium.
To ensure that everyone was able to get medical attention, apart from the free Covid treatment being giving at government hospitals, private hospitals were also asked to requisition their premises and provide the right to utilise 50% of the hospital's bed capacity for treating Covid patients, ensured and implemented by nodal officers, the release stated.
To make sure that patients did not suffer paying exuberant prices for private hospital treatment, CM Sawant brought the treatment of Covid under the Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY). All charges from admission, consultancy, beds right up to PPE kits, X-rays, ECG's would be covered under this scheme. This health insurance scheme provided much relief to the people seeking treatment in private facilities, it added.
The government also stepped in and capped rates for all private operators of ambulance and hearse vans for ferrying patients and the deceased. Strict rates were prescribed, and violators would risk losing their driver's licence and registration certificates if found overcharging. With the critical time now behind us, the State looks to push mass vaccination with all its strength and aims to have a 100% vaccinated population at the earliest, the release added.
It further states that to draw awareness for vaccination among the people and encourage them to step forward, the government launched the Tika Utsav, to ensure all the people of Goa, even the ones living in remote villages were not left behind in this mass vaccination drive. Spreading awareness through every medium possible, the government has now reached phase 3 of its Tika Utsav and has also allowed on spot registration for persons of age group 18-44 years.
To monitor the overall Covid situation and anticipate another wave, the Government has set up a State Task Force Committee to discuss and adopt measures for a possible third wave. With Sawant as the chairperson, the main focus has been to find a comprehensive approach to the probable third wave that is said to likely affect the young population, the press release added.
