Mumbai accounts for over 62% cases in Maharashtra: How can worst-hit Indian city stop spread of coronavirus
With 1,002 new cases on Tuesday, the number of those infected by coronavirus reached 32,791 in Mumbai. As numbers continue to rise, what is the plan to prevent the further spread of coronavirus, which has ravaged India’s financial capital? BMC Commissioner answers.
by India Today Web DeskHIGHLIGHTS
- Mumbai coronavirus case count up by 1,002 to 32,791 on Tuesday; 39 more die
- BMC Commissioner says Mumbai has the required number of hospital beds to deal with active cases
- As long as mortality rate is down, we can ‘manage’ the virus: BMC Commissioner
Over 62 per cent of the total novel coronavirus cases in Maharashtra are from India’s financial capital Mumbai. At over 32,000 cases of infections, Mumbai alone accounts for around a fight of total Covid-19 cases in India.
On May 1, Mumbai’s tally stood at 7,626. It surged past over 10,000 on May 6. On May 16, the number of cases stood at 18,000. In eight days, the case tally reached 31,000. With the cases in Mumbai doubling in almost 10 days, Mumbai has been the worst-hit city due to coronavirus pandemic in India. If the same rate continues, Mumbai is expected to record a total of 1,00,000 coronavirus cases by June.
How will Mumbai stop the further spread of coronavirus?
Speaking to India Today, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner IS Chahal on Tuesday said, “At present, Mumbai has 23,000 active cases. This is when experts, in the first week of May, said that Mumbai will have 40,000 active cases by the month-end.”
On lack of hospital beds in Mumbai, the BMC Commissioner said to deal with the rising cases of infections, a single dashboard of government and private hospitals for information on vacant beds has been set up in Mumbai.
We have 10,000 beds for critical patients and these will become 14,000 by Saturday [May 30], the BMC Commissioner told India Today.
BMC Commissioner IS Chahal said, “We will be ahead of the virus. By June 15, we will have 100,000 beds. I assure it will be done.”
He also added that a 1,000-bed facility, made in 10 days, is now operational at BKC.
On non-availability of beds and ambulance shortage in Mumbai, the BMC Commissioner said the issue arose because the list of test results came late in the evening, which added to the chaos: “Hunt for beds would start at 7 pm as the list was released late.”
To address the issue, IS Chahal said he had a meeting with labs and asked to ensure results are released in a day. “There has to be no backlog. Every lab was asked to report at 12 am so that bed allotment could start at 8 am,” the BMC Commissioner said.
While he acknowledged overcrowding at Mumbai hospitals, the BMC Commissioner said, “But with 33 major hospitals joining the BMC, we have become a big group which is now fighting hand in hand.”
The BMC Commissioner said density of population in Mumbai has proven to be a big challenge for authorities. He, however, added that containment zones, which reported majority of cases in Mumbai, have now come down.
He added that more lines have been added to helpline number 1916.
The BMC Commissioner, however, said that daily numbers shouldn’t be alarming as long as the mortality rate is down. IS Chahal said in a week’s time, the death rate in Mumbai will be below 3. At present, the death rate in Mumbai is 3.2.
“We now have more ambulances and there is a real time portal of dialysis. This was a big cause of deaths,: BMC Commissioner IS Chahal said. The metropolis had on Tuesday reported 39 fresh deaths due to Covid-19, taking the total count to 1,065.
READ | WHO warns first wave of coronavirus pandemic not over, dampens hopes
READ | Coronavirus cases in Mumbai up by 1,002 to over 32,700; 39 more die
WATCH | How can Mumbai stop Covid-19 spread | BMC commissioner exclusive