Goa Health Minister VishwajitRane on Tuesday slammed his Kerala counterpart for claiming that the coastal state did not have enough healthcare facilities to treat COVID-19 patients.In an interview with BBC, Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja had allegedly said a COVID-19 patient, who died in her state, had travelled from Goa, which did not have required healthcare facilities.The minister had also termed Goa as a Union Territory."It is disheartening to hear what Shailaja has erroneously stated in the interview on an international platform. As per our information, the patient she referred to in the interview is from Mahe in Puducherry and not Goa," Rane said, in a release here.He further said the Kerala minister had called Goa a Union Territory, when it is actually a state."Initially, Goa had seven COVID-19 patients, all of whom had recovered. Goa has a dedicated COVID-19 Hospital, which is coordinating with other hospitals strategically located all over the state," Rane said.The coastal state had an excellent team of doctors, who have a comprehensive COVID-19 plan and infrastructure, which was well established to manage patients, he said.When the state was under lockdown, no interstate movement was allowed, which raised questions about the authenticity of the Kerala minister's statement that the COVID-19 patient was shifted from Goa to Kerala for treatment.
