Black fungus patients to be treated in separate ward in Goa at GMCH

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Panaji: The Goa government on Friday said it will set up a separate ward to treat people infected with black fungus at the Goa Medical College and Hospital's super-speciality block.

Speaking to reporters, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said the state has so far recorded six cases of mucormycosis or black fungus, of which one patient has died.

A separate 25-bed ward will be dedicated to treat people suffering from the fungal infection, which is prevalent in COVID-19 patients who have recovered, he said.

Places such as Delhi were bifurcating the cases of black fungus from coronavirus cases, he said.

"We don't want to mix up the two infections. A separate treatment protocol will be worked out for mucormycosis patients," the minister said.

Meanwhile, India reported 2,59,591 new COVID-19 cases and 4,209 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), as many as 3,57,295 people recovered from the COVID-19 disease across the country in the last 24 hours, which is more than the fresh cases reported.

"The cumulative caseload in India now stands at 2,60,31,991. There are 30,27,925 active COVID cases in the country," the Ministry said.

As many as 2,91,331 people have succumbed to the COVID-19 infection in India, while the recovery tally has mounted to 2,27,12,735.