Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Monday said they are planning to convert the North Goa district Hospital into a notified COVID-19 facility in the wake a spike in coronavirus cases in the coastal State.
The hospital, located in Mapusa town, about 9km from Panaji, was till now not serving as a COVID-19 facility.
“To ensure we are equipped in view of the rising cases, we are planning to convert the North Goa district hospital as a notified Covid-19 hospital in phases with additional number of beds and oxygen supply,” Mr. Rane tweeted.
“Let’s unitedly fight this pandemic and work towards bringing back normalcy in the State under the supervision of Secretary Health, Dir. DHS & Medical Superintendent of NGDH, he said in another tweet.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said his government would not impose a lockdown in Goa as it would adversely affect the economy.
The State has adequate medical infrastructure to treat the rising number of COVID-19 patients, he said.
On Sunday, Goa reported 2,293 new COVID-19 cases and 24 fatalities, taking the count of infections to 77,477 and the toll to 1,017.
So far, 62,77 people have recovered from the viral infection, while there are 13,689 active COVID-19 cases in the State, as per official figures.