COVID-19: Pvt hospitals in Goa to shut OPDs till Mar 31

The Indian Medical Association's Goa chapter on Tuesday asked its members to shut their outpatient departments (OPDs) till March 31 in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. In a press statement issued here, the IMA's Goa chief S Samuel Arawattigi said following discussions with the association's units in other states and the Centre, it was decided that members of the Goa unit must keep their OPDs shut till March 31.

Patients can consult private medical practitioners over phone and avail emergency services at nearby hospitals, he said. OPDs could be hotspots for transmission of coronavirus, he said, citing the reason for the closure.

"All IMA doctors are committed to join the government's efforts to contain the viral outbreak, as and when they are asked to," Arawattigi said. A popular tourist destination, the coastal state has not recorded a single case of coronavirus so far.