Some Bollywood celebrities and cricketers had occupied hospital beds in Mumbai despite having no serious Covid symptoms, Maharashtra minister Aslam Shaikh said on Tuesday. He said the beds could have been used to admit seriously ill people who needed hospitalisation on priority.
"Some celebrities from the film industry and cricketers had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic, but they got themselves admitted to major private hospitals and occupied beds for longer periods," the textile minister told reporters.
The minister's remark comes days after iconic cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who had tested positive for the virus last month, was discharged after spending a few days at a private hospital in Mumbai. He was later asked to isolate at home.
Mumbai is severely hit by the rapid second wave of Covid infections. It has been reporting around 10,000 daily cases for some days.
The Maharashtra capital currently has over 90,000 active cases.
The city's health infrastructure seems to be crumbling under the intense pressure. There is a reported shortage of hospital beds and life-saving medical oxygen and drugs.
The Maharashtra government has announced that it will set up three field hospitals in the next two months to increase the number of beds.
Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state with 51,751 new cases, down from yesterday's 63,294.
The state government has announced restrictions like night curfew and weekend lockdowns to arrest the growth of cases in the state. However, daily infections are rising.
The Maharashtra government will likely announce more stringent restrictions in the next couple of days.
India recorded 1,61,736 new Covid cases on Tuesday, slightly lower than yesterday, pushing the country's caseload to over 1.36 crore.
With inputs from PTI
