MARGAO
With no let-up in the Covid situation and the administration facing an acute bed shortage across the state, the health authorities on Sunday sent an SOS to the ESI hospital, Margao, to enhance its bed capacity by 50.
As of Sunday, the ESI hospital was full to its capacity, with 147 patients admitted in the hospital, with just three beds left for emergency use.
Given the situation, the Dean of the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, is believed to have sent an SOS to the ESI hospital management to enhance the bed capacity to 200 as against the existing 150 beds.
ESI hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Vishwajit Faldesai on Sunday set in motion the process to enhance the hospital’s bed capacity by another 34 beds within the next 24 hours.
In fact, Dr Faldesai pointed out that the hospital will be in a position to admit another 34 patients, hopefully by Monday evening, if the promised doctors and paramedics from the GMC assume office by tomorrow.
Sources in the know said the ESI hospital has adequate number of beds, but may fall short of mattresses after they were shifted to the South Goa district hospital. “Once the promised doctors and paramedics assume office, the ESI hospital should be in a position to cater to another 34 patients within 24 hours,” Dr Faldesai said.
The ESI hospital, which was Goa’s lone Covid notified hospital at the height of the pandemic last year had increased its capacity to 220 beds last year to cater to the growing requirements of the Covid patients.
Meanwhile, the number of active Covid cases in the jurisdiction of Margao Urban Health Centre has touched 1236 on Sunday as against 1221 on Saturday, indicating there’s no let-up in the number of Covid cases reported in the city.
Covid cases have also shown an upward trend at the Balli Primary Health centre, which has in its jurisdiction the Cuncolim Municipal Council area.
The number of active Covid cases at the Balli PHC was put at 285 as again 233 on Saturday, a spike of over 50 cases.
Meanwhile, Balli Health Officer, Dr Mamata Kakodkar has denied that around 100-odd Covid cases were reported in Cuncolim near the NIT campus site. She said a group of around five labourers working at the site had tested positive for Covid over a week ago and added no fresh cases have been detected at the site.
Dr Kakodkar, however, said the Covid positive cases detected at the Balli PHC are spread across the areas coming under the health centre, with majority of these reported from the Cuncolim municipal area.
