Goa government revises COVID-19 treatment protocol

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Tuesday said the state government has revised the COVID-19 treatment protocol, by deciding to give medicines to people coming to hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms, even before their test results arrive.

Speaking to reporters, the minister said the data of deceased patients has revealed that many of them had died due to delayed admission at hospitals.

The state government has redrawn its protocol, under which symptomatic patients will be given medicines immediately when they arrive for testing, without waiting for reports, he said.

The state had a backlog of test samples due to scarcity of machines, which has been now cleared after the testing infrastructure was ramped up, Rane said.

Director of Health Services Dr Jose D'Sa said early treatment will reduce the number of patients arriving at hospitals in a critical condition.

The protocol was drawn following a consultation with expert doctors, said dean of Goa Medical College and Hospital Dr Shivanand Bandekar, adding that the procedure is also being followed in other states.

Dr Bandekar further said that the state health department will not issue COVID-19 negative certificates to travellers.

People wishing to travel can approach private hospitals for certificates without overburdening the government infrastructure, he added.

Goa's coronavirus caseload rose by 2,321 and reached 79,798 on Monday. The state's toll stands at 1,055 and it currently has 15,260 active cases.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)