PANAJI
The political and commercial capitals of Goa are rapidly emerging as the new Covid hotspots of the state with the number of active cases under Urban Health Centre (UHC) Panaji showing a four-fold increase and the cases under UHC Margao more than doubling over the last two weeks.
The worrying trend can be spotted in comparison of the total active Covid cases under UHC Panaji and UHC Margao over a period of two weeks between February 23 and March 9.
On February 23, UHC Panaji had 27 cases under it, a number which doubled by March 2 and which now stands at 103. Similarly, UHC Margao had 45 active Covid cases under it as on February 23. This quickly increased to 85 within a week and presently stands at 103.
Authorities at the Directorate of Health Services disclosed that all efforts were being made to arrest the worrying trend in the two major hubs of the state, especially with an eye on the upcoming Municipal election schedules.
Speaking to The Goan, State Epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar said, “We will continue with our strategy of ‘track, test and treat’. People should follow the basic Covid safety precautions of wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing very strictly. We are involved in active contact tracing, isolation of positives among all the other steps.”
Dr Betodkar said that all eligible people are also being advised to come forward for vaccination. “The earlier we take a vaccine, the better we will be prepared for a spike in cases.”
