Fearing for the worst, Maha govt identifies Covid-dedicated hospitals with isolation beds
State health minister Rajesh Tope said that these centres have been set up as a part of the preparations to deal with any emergency situation because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Maharashtra, which tops the list as the worst-affected coronavirus disease (Covid-19) state in the country with over 10,000 positive cases, is preparing for a spike in the viral outbreak and has identified 1,677 Covid-19 dedicated hospitals that have 1,76,357 isolated beds, state health department officials said.

A dedicated Covid-19 hospital is a facility for those, who have been clinically diagnosed as mild cases. Each centre will have a dedicated basic life support ambulance equipped with staff available on a 24x7 basis in line with the guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
State health minister Rajesh Tope said that these centres have been set up as a part of the preparations to deal with any emergency situation because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“We’ve 1,677 Covid-19 dedicated hospitals that have 1,76,357 isolated beds. There are also 7,248 beds in intensive care units (ICUs). We’ve around 3,000 ventilators, around 80,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and 2.82 lakh N-95 masks,” he said.
On Thursday, Maharashtra topped the 10,000-mark, as 583 new Covid-19 cases were reported. The overall state tally was 10,498 and 459 deaths.
Mumbai, the worst-hit city in the country, reported 417 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, as the total count stood at 7,061 and 290 deaths. The city has 1,459 active containment zones, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities. However, the civic body has removed 331 containment zones from its list after they completed the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
The officials are still claiming that the situation is still under control, as most of the new cases have been reported from traced contacts.
Maharashtra has 733 active containment zones, the officials said. Around 10,092 survey teams, comprising doctors and paramedical staff, have screened over 42.11 lakh people so far. While, 10,695 suspected patients have been kept at institutional quarantine facilities, and 1,68,266 are home quarantined, they added.
On Thursday, the state government issued an order that no hospital can turn away any patient without examination in any circumstances. The order, which comes into effect from Saturday, was issued after several complaints came to the notice of the authorities that many hospitals are denying admission to patients.
The hospitals have been warned of strict action for breach of government directives. The government has ordered that any patient, Covid-19 or non-Covid-19, entering hospital premises for treatment should be attended to immediately. The patient can be shifted or admitted after the check-up is conducted, the order added.
The state government has also eased ongoing lockdown restrictions, which are in place till May 3 to contain the spread of Covid-19 outbreak, by relaxing some norms such as allowing interstate travel from Saturday for stranded workers, students, and pilgrims.
“All those stranded, including migrants, pilgrims, and students, will be allowed to travel with prior written permission in a prescribed format,’’ said state home minister Anil Deshmukh.
District collectors and the directors of the state disaster management unit have been empowered to grant permission for interstate travel for the stranded people, he added.
