Is Govt Failure Behind Goa’s Spike in Cases and Oxygen Shortage?

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- The Quint
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A coastal state famous for its beaches, floating casinos, crowds of tourists and a mix bag of international cuisine and culture, Goa is currently facing a deadly spike in COVID cases which is ripping apart the entire state.

While it's been racking up more than 3,000 cases every day since the uptick began in April, on 14 May, the state hit a record high positivity rate of 51.4%, the highest in the country.

For a small state, with a population of 1.5 million, the sudden spike in cases mean that healthcare facilities are beyond overwhelmed. While the total cases as of 19 May is at 23,956, Goa has less than 2,300 hospitals beds and only 26 hospitals.

According to govt data, Goa along with Delhi have reported the highest deaths per one lakh population. In fact in Goa, several of the deaths have come from its biggest covid centre which is the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). This 1,200 bed hospital has reported more than 75 deaths between 10-13 May.

With less than 1 lakh people being completely vaccinated in the state since inoculations began in January 2021, a ten-fold rise in COVID cases just within a month and reports of oxygen shortages in hospitals, how did Goa arrive at this terrible crisis? Who is to blame for Goa’s condition? In this episode, we will try to bring out the ground reality of healthcare facilities and analyse the actions taken by the state government on the crisis.

Host and Producer: Himmat Shaligram

Guest: Dr Lenny Da Costa, a resident geriatrics physician and functional medicine expert in Goa, Sujay Gupta, a senior journalist and a consulting editor for the Herald in Goa and Shruti Chaturvedi, an entrepreneur and the founding member of the COVID Goa Care volunteer group.

Editor: Shelly Walia