Kalyan-Dombivli tops in Covid-19 cases in MMR

The twin cities of Kalyan and Dombivli have seen Covid-19 spread rapidly since June when the lockdown was eased. According to the state health department, Kalyan

The twin cities of Kalyan and Dombivli have seen Covid-19 spread rapidly since June when the lockdown was eased. According to the state health department, Kalyan and Dombivli have a total of 16,071cases of Covid-19 and 239 deaths from the infection. These are among the highest numbers of cases in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

A policeman outside a containment zone in Kalyan. (HT)

According to the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), there were 870 cases of Covid-19 reported in the twin cities in May and 5,543 cases in June. In the first two weeks of July, KDMC says there have been 7,001 new cases of Covid-19 and on Wednesday, 498 cases were recorded. According to the state health department, 561 new cases of Covid-19 and 15 deaths were recorded in the area. As of now, no data has been released to show which parts are most affected by Covid-19. “The data analysis work is pending as deputy commissioners who handle the administration works are also infected. Around 72 staff members of the civic body are infected,” said Pratibha Panpatil, epidemic officer, KDMC.

However, commissioner of KDMC Dr Vijay Suryavanshi said the spike is not worrying. “The projection made by the state government states the number of cases will increase. The cases will increase when we do more testing. The only point is we need to increase tracing and also address patients on time. For this, we have started to set up war rooms at each of our 10 wards. Also, we have started ward-wise survey through corporators,” he said.

At present, KDMC collects around 900 swabs daily for testing, which have to be sent to Mumbai. There is no testing facility in Kalyan. The plan is to increase this number to 1,500 and have tests processed at its own lab at Gauripada in Kalyan (West), which would enable KDMC to carry out 3,000 tests a day. Recently, KDMC started antigen testing at the ward level, having acquired 10,000 kits. In the coming days, 25,000 more kits will be acquired.

Activists say KDMC’s response to the outbreak is marked by poor infrastructure and shortage of manpower. Sajitha Nair, a member of Alert Citizens’ Forum (Jagruk Nagrik), said, “The civic body has now taken corporators and volunteers to carry out surveys of all its wards. This should have been done at an early stage. Also, the civic body should have increased beds and testing capacity by May.” Nair said KDMC had also failed to track those quarantined at home, which has led to a rapid spread of infection.

Many have complained about lack of beds for Covid-19 patients, delays in receiving test results, difficulty in accessing ambulances and dismal facilities at civic-run hospitals like Bai Rukminibai Hospital in Kalyan and Shastri Nagar General Hospital in Dombivli.

“My daughter in-law tested positive, after which she was taken to the Tata Amantra quarantine centre. My son, grandchildren, wife and I were also taken to the centre. They collected our swab on June 28 and the report came on July 6,” said KL Vasankar, who lives in Karpewadi, in Kalyan (East).

Sameer Kamble, a resident of Kalyan (East), said, “I lost both my in-laws to Covid-19 in June. We struggled to get my father in-law admitted – I approached four private hospitals when his oxygen levels were dropping. No one admitted him as we did not have a Covid test report. Finally, he was admitted to Shastri Nagar General Hospital. He got tested but we got his report a day after he died on June 9.” Kamble’s mother in-law would later contract the infection and the family struggled to get an ambulance for her. “I called up all the numbers but no ambulance was sent till the last moment. I drove to a Thane hospital and got her admitted there,” said Kamble. His mother in-law eventually succumbed to Covid-19 on June 14 while being treated at a hospital in Dombivli.

Suryavanshi admitted to a shortage of beds for Covid-19 patients, but said KDMC plans to tie up with 24 hospitals to increase the number of available beds. “We have managed to get around 4,000 quarantine beds and 780 beds at Covid hospitals in total. The beds will be increased by 1,000, with oxygen support for critical patients. Also, in every ward we plan to have at least 250 beds to treat patients locally and also another 5,000 beds for those with mild symptoms,” said Suryavanshi, adding that medical staff have not responded to calls to join frontline workers. “Making doctors and other staff available to run hospitals was a task as many kept avoiding the job. We are asking people to join, but the response is low. We are outsourcing staff now as we need to improve on manpower,” said Suryavanshi.