On May 12, 2020, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray proposed that some of the districts of the state could use the Goa model for combatting coronavirus. Goa, on April 19 was declared the first zero COVID-19 state in the country with the last seven positive cases turning negative making Goa the first green state in the country with no case of coronavirus being reported from April 3. The coastal State had a total of seven positive cases, of whom six had travel history and one was the brother of a positive patient.
But, a few days after being declared free from coronavirus disease, Goa on May 14, confirmed that seven people have tested COVID-19 positive during rapid testing. Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that all seven patients were shifted to the designated COVID-19 hospital in Ponda. “The war against COVID-19 is far from over," CM Pramod Sawant said, on his Facebook page. "We must continue our fight against this virus by adopting a modified lifestyle which gives priority to safe health norms such as sanitization, wearing of face covers, social distancing and staying at home during the lockdown period," he added.
Regardless, it is admirable how Goa managed to get a hold on COVID-19 in controlling it’s spread. It is of great concern for all the states to note and learn from Goa’s success.
What is the Goa model?
The Goa model includes house-to-house surveys and treating all patients. Besides, disciplined lockdown and awareness among the citizens are also included in this model. The Goa government has commendably managed to keep the morale up in its state which has rewarded them in such a decreased number of cases in the past few weeks.
When looked at the statistics, it can be fairly noticed how the increase in the number of cases is steeper for Maharashtra as compared to Goa. Also, it can be fairly noticed that the contribution of Goa in the total number of cases in India is very low.
How is Goa currently handling the situation?
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that the coronavirus free state Goa is acquiring PCR machine in fight against the virus which shall be used for antibody testing whenever required. The Goa Health Ministry is also in the process of procuring the latest polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine to speed up its process to test 450-1000 swabs in the fight against COVID-19. "We are determined in our fight against COVID-19 for a healthy and safe Goa," Rane said.
The minister further announced that the virology lab in Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) will be functioning round the clock to do maximum tests and strengthen the state government's fight against COVID-19.
To conclude, the lessons that the rest of the states in India could learn from Goa could include ramping up testing of cases and preparing for the future because the world will not get rid of this problem shortly, setting up of testing kiosks for rapid diagnosis, not thinking of opening up the lockdown and other activities like tourism, etc. for at least six months to let the impact of the virus fade away and gradually leave, and a great solution could be letting people travel only if they have a ‘COVID Negative’ certificate to make sure that the person is not a carrier.
Even the states which are considered better in terms of health facilities and with better plans of execution are giving a test with the rising cases of COVID-19, so it becomes obvious that the poorer states will have to struggle even more given the cases and the economic fallout. Eight measures were set out before state governments by WHO which suggests what they must do to combat the virus which are - arrangements for testing, arrangements for isolation and treatment of mild and moderate cases, arrangements for treatment of severe patients and for critical care, addressing human resource requirements, addressing human resource rights and safety, ensuring supply chain management, ensuring ambulance and patient transport, and engaging community volunteers.
It has become necessary for the state and central governments to loosen their purses for the sake of the living. “Precaution is better than cure.” They need to ensure lives of people rather than counting those who are already lost their lives.
It is the kind of problem which almost nobody has seen and with the only main solution being awareness of the issue. Maintaining social distance, washing hands, sanitizing, eating healthy to build a strong immune system, and not spreading false information are some of the most important guidelines recommended by WHO.