BMC books 3.3K rooms in 88 hotels to quarantine passengers from special flights

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday said that it had reserved as many as 3,343 rooms in 88 hotels to quarantine the 1,900 Indian nationals who

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday said that it had reserved as many as 3,343 rooms in 88 hotels to quarantine the 1,900 Indian nationals who will arrive in the city from various countries through special flights.

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About 14,800 Indian nationals will be brought back to the country from 12 different countries over the next several days. All 1,900 passengers arriving in Mumbai, will be screened by a team of doctors of the BMC and those who show coronavirus symptoms will be admitted to a Covid-19 hospital. Those with no symptoms will be sent to quarantine facilities at various hotels.

As per the state data, 680 cases of Covid-19 and 24 deaths were reported on Thursday. The total number of cases in the city has reached 11, 394 and 437 deaths so far. As per the BMC,148 patients recovered and were discharged on Thursday. So far, 2,435 people have recovered in the city.

Meanwhile, the BMC has mandated all pregnant women to get registered at nearby maternity homes or hospitals. Beds have been kept reserved at BYL Nair Hospital for pregnant women with complications. Additional facilities are also being developed for Covid-19 positive pregnant women nearing delivery.

In Dharavi, 50 new cases were reported on Thursday after which the total number of Covid-19 cases in the area rose to 783. Dharavi has reported 21 Covid-19 deaths so far. An official from G-North ward, which covers Dharavi, Dadar and Mahim, confirmed that two cases from Dadar and five cases from Mahim have been reported on Thursday. The total cases in Dadar have reached 66, and 96 in Mahim.

BMC is also continuing its slum survey to identify senior citizens with comorbidities. As part of this initiative, the BMC claims to have surveyed over 17 lakh people and met above 58,000 senior citizens to check for comorbidities. Of these, 700 were found with low oxygen levels and 594 were proactively treated even though none of them had Covid-19 symptoms.

The BMC has claimed to have surveyed 32 lakh houses across the city so far to screen residents for symptoms of Covid-19 and covered 1.27 crore people in those surveys. More than two lakh people have been traced through contact tracing.

Meanwhile, the BMC’s F-North ward, consisting of Wadala, Matunga and certain parts of Dadar, will be under complete lockdown for 10 days starting Friday. The BMC officials said no vegetables will be sold in the area and only medical shops will remain open till May 17.