Covid centres in Thane district closed temporarily as less patients visit them

Covid care centres in Ambernath, Badlapur and Murbad of Thane district are temporarily shut due to less patients visiting them and to cut down on expenditure

Covid care centres in Ambernath, Badlapur and Murbad are temporarily shut due to less patients.

Vacant beds, like this one at Global Hospital, Thane, are a common sight in Thane district as the number of patients visiting Covid care centres is less. (PRAFUL GANGURDE/HT PHOTO)

The head of the department said that hardly anyone turned out at these centres for treatment even after getting a positive report. They are less symptomatic and are able to be treated at home itself, the official said.

In August, rural areas of Thane district witnessed a decline in daily positive cases. It dropped from 64 daily positive cases in the first week to 27 by the last week of August. Although there was a slight increase in daily positive cases in September, they have not gone beyond 50 daily cases.

In October, again a decline has been noted with the daily positive cases ranging between 25 and 35 over the last few days. Till now Thane rural areas have recorded around 1,00,056 positive cases.

Municipal councils of Badlapur and Ambernath have to spend around ₹50 lakh per month for the maintenance of one centre and that includes payment of the employees of agencies and other expenses.

Ambernath Municipal Council chief, Prashant Rasal, said, “In the last 15 days, Ambernath has reported 71 positive cases. Amongst these, only 19 patients visited the hospital for treatment. Our centre has a capacity of 700 beds. As there are no patients, it is of no use. Every month, the council spent around ₹45 lakh to ₹50 lakh on the centre’s maintenance and payment to private agencies for providing employees. We have our hospital with a capacity of 40 to 50 beds at the centre of Ayudh Nirman, where we can provide treatment for Covid. To stop unnecessary expenses and save money for the future or other calamities, we have taken the decision to close this centre on a temporary basis.”

After Ambernath Municipal Council took this decision, Kulgaon Badlapur Municipal Council and Murbad also planned to shut their centres.

Tehsildar of Murbad, Amol Kadam, said, “During the second wave we started Covid centre with 50 beds with oxygen facilities. But, it is of no use now as hardly five to 10 patients visited in the past few months. Therefore, to cut down the expenses, we have decided to close the centre temporarily.”