Fewer ICU, ventilator beds vacant in Mumbai

The higher ICU and ventilator bed occupancy is behind the BMC’s decision to stick to its level-three unlock status, even though Mumbai now qualifies for level one.

A steady decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai over the past two weeks has lifted the oxygen-bed availability to 82%. However, fewer intensive care unit (ICU) and ventilator beds are vacant in comparison, at 45% and 36% respectively. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and experts have attributed this to the nature of infections in the devastating second wave, with critical patients taking longer to recover. The higher ICU and ventilator bed occupancy is behind the BMC’s decision to stick to its level-three unlock status, even though Mumbai now qualifies for level one.

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For any city to qualify for level one, it needs to have a positivity rate of less than 5% and oxygen-bed occupancy less than 25%. However, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said on Friday evening that Mumbai may continue to remain in level three. The civic body will take a call on easing restrictions in the city next week, authorities had said on Friday.

As of Saturday morning, Mumbai has 9,007 of 10,933 oxygen beds vacant, but only 1,185 of 2,633 ICU beds and 527 of 1,450 ventilator beds vacant.

When asked if the higher occupancy of ICU and ventilator beds is a matter of concern, Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, in-charge of BMC’s public health department, said on Friday night, “Even though the lower vacancy of ICU and ventilator beds is not a concerning factor at present, if restrictions are eased immediately, and cases increase rapidly, we don’t want to be in a difficult situation.”

Experts have attributed the higher occupancy of ICU and ventilator beds to longer recovery time in critical patients who got infected during the second wave.

Some Covid-19 patients who were admitted into critical care at the peak of the second wave, last month, remain on critical care still, experts said.

Dr Harish Chafle, senior consultant, pulmonology and critical care at Global Hospitals in Parel, said, “Early development of fibrosis, intensity of the infection in critical patients, and new strands of the virus are mainly responsible for critical patients needing medical care longer. In such patients, we are also seeing that the final outcome is not too good.” In such a scenario, increased caseload in the near future can prove challenging, according to experts.

“It is important to identify infection in patients with lower immunity in the early stages. We are also identifying patients in whom severity of the virus has chances of rapidly increasing, and treating them accordingly,” Dr Chafle said.

On Saturday, Mumbai reported 676 cases, corresponding to 33,136 tests conducted in Mumbai, with a daily positivity rate of 2%. The city also reported 13 deaths. There are 18,788 active cases in the city.