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Hospitals & ICUs full as statesees biggest single-day spike in Goa | Goa News – Times of India

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PANAJI/ MARGAO: Goa on Thursday witnessed its record single-day spike as 757 Covid-19 cases were reported, putting the state’s health infrastructure in tatters with all the nearly 550 beds, including 75 in private hospitals, occupied.
The 318-bed South Goa district hospital—the designated Covid hospital—was full and so was its nine-bed ICU. The step down ITU, which had nine beds commissioned on Wednesday, had eight of its beds occupied, as hundreds of patients continued to fill up its emergency room.
With the steep rise in cases, Goa’s case positivity rate has accelerated to 28%, which is probably the highest in the country.
The tally of active cases in the state rose to 5,681, while it reported five casualties, also the highest toll in the past several months, as the mortality count went up to 863. In all, nine people have died over the past 48 hours.
Thursday’s record spike surpasses the previous highest of 740 positive cases reported on September 12, last year.
“We had 171 cases come to the emergency room of the hospital on Wednesday, the highest number we have seen since the hospital was commissioned in September last year. Today, the emergency room was also teeming with fresh cases,” a senior doctor at the South Goa district hospital said.
To tide over the situation, two more assistant matrons from Goa Medical College and Hospital were deputed to the South Goa district hospital on Thursday, while four more ward nurses were expected to join on Friday to ensure optimal functioning of all wards, sources said.
Health minister Vishwajit Rane said the bed capacity would be further scaled up and added the ESI hospital, Margao, will also begin catering to Covid patients requiring hospitalisation.
“ESI hospital will also be starting ICU and ITU units to manage rising cases,” Rane said.
ESI hospital, which treated Covid patients during the first wave of the pandemic last year, is currently notified as a Covid care centre—of the 86 beds available, almost half of them are occupied—where most of those admitted are asymptomatic.
At the 60-bedded Covid care centre at Fatorda, 25 beds were occupied by Thursday, sources said.
The surge in infections in urban areas continued with Panaji, Porvorim, Margao, Candolim, Mapusa and Ponda reporting a sharp rise for yet another day. On Thursday, Margao alone had 660 active cases.
“ESI hospital has to be reopened for Covid patients, there’s no choice. It can function as a step-down hospital,” a health official said, describing the rise in Covid cases and hospital admissions as “exponential” and “worse than last year”.
“There are excellent facilities available, but the public is carefree and careless and as a result doctors and nurses are now fatigued. This cannot go on and on,” a healthcare worker said.
The recovery rate, which has been on the decline for the past several days, dipped further to 90% on Thursday. Until last month, it ranged between 96% and 97%. As many as 182 patients were cured over the past 24 hours, even as there were 97 hospital admissions and 367 patients under home-isolation.
The South Goa district hospital, which treats mild to severe Covid cases, created an additional male ward after the existing one filled up quickly as it has been receiving more male admissions compared to female. The 15-bed obstetrics ward has pregnant women and those who have delivered. The hospital also has six new-born babies.

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Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

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Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

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Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

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Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

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Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

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On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

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