Maharashtra bandh impact: Low turnout at vaccination centres, OPDs

Monday is generally the busiest day of the week in OPDs but the footfall was down by nearly 50% due to the Maharashtra bandh on Monday, said authorities at a prominent Mumbai hospital

The Maharashtra bandh on Monday impacted turnout at vaccination centres negatively and also resulted in fewer people visiting outpatient departments (OPDs) in hospitals across the city even when the ruling coalition behind the shutdown had assured of essential services not getting affected. Hospital authorities said patients and vaccine seekers may have stayed home fearing disruptions and difficulty in travelling.

While the civic body kept all the Covid vaccination centres open, however, the turnout was low. (HT PHOTO)

“Monday is the busiest day of the week in OPDs but the footfall was down by nearly 50% due to the bandh,” said Dr Sarika Chapane from BYL Nair Hospital, where approximately 1000 patients showed up on Monday. Chapane said that routine surgeries were not postponed. Similarly, KEM Hospital and Sion Hospital too saw a drop in the footfall at their OPDs.

While the civic body kept all the Covid vaccination centres open, the turnout was low. “The real impact on vaccination numbers will be known only at the end of the day when figures from all centres are collated,” said Dr Mangala Gomare, executive health officer of BMC. “From our end, we kept all the centres operational,” she said.