Mumbai Adds 3,520 Beds To Its Covid Fight As Cases Rise In Satellite Towns

Four, state-of-the-art, contactless field hospitals, with a total of 3,520 beds and 222 intensive care and acute care beds, were inaugurated in Mumbai, increasing the city's capacity to fight the coronavirus pandemic even as its daily case growth date registered a slight decline and that of its satellite towns increased.

Thane and Pune are fast eclipsing Mumbai as a Covid hotspot and are among the five worst-hit districts behind Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Mumbai's satellite towns of Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan Dombivali and Mira-Bhayendar have also saw a jump of 100 to 400 per cent in coronavirus cases in June when Maharashtra began unlocking.

However, Minister Aaditya Thackeray has assured that beds in these hospitals would be available for all even as they "replicate this model of field hospitals to add bed capacity in other districts of Maharashtra... Neighbouring cities of Thane and Navi Mumbai have already been allocated a few beds when they get operational this week," tweeted.

Earlier today, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ji presided over the commissioning ceremony of 4 field hospitals. These field hospitals adding a total of 3205 beds and 222 ICU/ acute care beds were added from Mulund, Dahisar, BKC and Mahalaxmi racecourse. (1/n) pic.twitter.com/hwmDyi3a8o

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 7, 2020

The facilities are contactless clinics, remote monitoring, central command systems, have negative pressure ICU and ACU wards, and Covid dialysis beds, the state environment minister said.

"These jumbo facilities...have all the necessary technical and medical requirements for any covid care hospital. It's also probably the first time that negative pressure has been achieved in a hangar space for an ICU," the minister tweeted as people questioned if the facilities would have enough doctors and medical staff.

The facilities are contactless clinics, remote monitoring, central command systems, have negative pressure ICU and ACU wards, and Covid dialysis beds.

"Required medical help will be available at these four new treatment centres," a spokesman for the state government said.

Health workers have complained about severe staff shortages, with some senior doctors and nurses avoiding frontlines because of their vulnerability to the virus due to age or conditions such as diabetes.

To safeguard Mumbai's Covis Warriors and maximize their potential, the state has also introduced a food and medicine delivery robot and air-tight masks with N95 filter

A photo of our @mybmcWardGS robot for food/ medicine delivery and also of the air tight mask with N95 filter designed and made locally to be used by ward frontline staff pic.twitter.com/Ev04ijClpd

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 6, 2020

These jumbo facilities have all the necessary technical and medical requirements for any covid care hospital.

Mr Thackeray said "such field hospitals are an essential part of an administrative response to a medical emergency" and thanked, among others, Dr Muffi Lakdawala and Sharad N Ughade, Assistant Commissioner of G-South Ward and BMC Director (Information Technology), for the NSCI dome field hospital, which served as "a role model".