Kalyan, Dombivli to get 400 more beds for Covid patients, says guardian minister

The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) will get 200 intensive care units (ICU) beds as well as 200 oxygen beds in the coming days to tackle the increasing

The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) will get 200 intensive care units (ICU) beds as well as 200 oxygen beds in the coming days to tackle the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the city, Thane guardian minister Eknath Shinde said on Saturday.

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“There is a need to increase beds in Kalyan and Dombivli. Also, I directed the civic body to emphasise on contact tracing and conduct mass screenings at homes,” Shinde said at Acharya Atre auditorium in Kalyan (West) during a review meeting of the preparations taken to tackle the outbreak in the city. The civic body plans to set up more quarantine centres and hospitals in the coming days.

Shinde directed the civic body to finalise a location for these beds at the earliest and also appealed to the elected representatives to work as a team.

City corporators also asked Shinde to impose a 15-day lockdown akin to Bhiwandi to reduce the number of cases in Thane. KDMC commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi said, “We are contemplating on the idea of a complete lockdown. The decision is yet to be made by the general body.”

On Saturday, 243 new Covid cases were recorded in KDMC’s jurisdiction, taking the total count to 3,257. With two more deaths in the twin cities, the toll rose to 71.

In neighbouring Thane, the case count crossed the 6,000-mark on Saturday, after 176 new cases took the total number of Covid-19 cases to 6,132. Thane recorded six new deaths, owing to which the toll now stands at 198. The city also recorded 51% recovery rate.

“On Saturday alone, 114 people recovered and were discharged home,” a health officer from Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) said.