Covid Beds For "Needy", Not For Asymptomatic Patients As Cases Rise In Mumbai

Amid a rapid surge in the Coronavirus cases in Mumbai, its civic body authority on Monday directed hospitals and nursing homes against allotting Covid beds to asymptomatic patients to ensure "prompt availability of beds to the needy".

The facilities have also been asked to discharge asymptomatic patients at the earliest to vacate beds for the patients with more serious symptoms.

The order comes a day after the city reported its highest-ever daily spike with 6,923 COVID-19 cases.

Mumbai recorded 5,888 new cases and 12 deaths on Monday.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also directed the hospitals to activate their maximum beds to accommodate the increasing number of positive patients.

In a meeting held with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Health Minister Rajesh Tope and other officials on Sunday, principal secretary to state health department, Dr Pradeep Vyas, had predicted a "tremendous stress" on the availability of beds, oxygen supply, and ventilators, which could fall short if the cases continue to go up.

80 per cent of the total Covid beds and 100 per cent of the ICU beds at private hospitals shall be kept reserved for ward war room allotment to Coronavirus patients only, stated an official release by the BMC.

A protocol for doctors at ward war room for allotting beds has also been issued. Ward war rooms are mini war rooms for every ward in the city to allot COVID-19 beds.

BMC commissioner IS Chahal has also empowered assistant commissioners to take decisions at the ward level and stressed activation of war rooms at the ward level for better management of available beds, ICU beds, ventilators among others, as per the order.

Maharashtra on Monday added 31,643 fresh infections, a  day after reporting the highest one-day rise of 40,414 coronavirus positive cases, taking the overall tally to 27,45,518 , the state health department said. With 102 fatalities, the death figure in the state went up to 54,283.