Likely spike in Covid-19 post Diwali will not result in bed shortage in Mumbai: BMC

As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is expecting a possible spike in Covid-19 cases post Diwali, it has also maintained that the possible spike post

As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is expecting a possible spike in Covid-19 cases post Diwali, it has also maintained that the possible spike post Diwali would not pose a challenge in Covid-19 bed availability in the city.

More than 14,000 beds are currently available in Covid-19 hospitals in the city. (HT Photo)

Of more than 14,000 beds available in Covid-19 hospitals, 66% are currently vacant, BMC officials said. In categories like intensive care units (ICU), oxygen and ventilators the vacancy rate is between 30% and 60%. BMC said there will not be any impact on bed availability, and if need arises it can increase the bed capacity depending on the requirement.

According to data from BMC’s dashboard, of the 14,456 beds in dedicated Covid-19 hospitals and centres, 9,580 were vacant, as of November 14. In case of ICU beds, of the total 2,003 beds, 803 are available, followed by 5,987 oxygen beds of total 8,689 oxygen beds and 373 ventilators of 1,183 ventilators.

After the Covid-19 outbreak, BMC had come under criticism due to non-availability of beds. To deal with this, starting June, BMC created 24 mini control ward war rooms to regulate the allocation of beds rather than having a single centralised bed allocation control room.

Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner of BMC, said, “The 14-day cycle after Diwali is crucial, and there may be surge up to some extent. But bed availability will not be an issue and citizens don’t need to worry about it. However, they need to be cautious and take precautions to control further spread.”

However, with daily case load going down, several hospitals and nursing homes requested to bring down the cap and reduce Covid-19 beds, but BMC has not allowed the same yet.

BMC had also decided to put several temporary Covid-19 centres on standby or shut them owing to the case load going down. But the state Covid-19 task force has warned against permanently closing down such centres fearing second wave.

Dr Kedar Toraskar, a member of the Covid-19 task force, said, “We understand that daily operations of these centres can be a costly affair but we don’t have to shut them. Instead put them on standby wherein they can be activated anytime in case of any spike in coming days.”

On Sunday, the city reported 577 cases, taking the tally to 269,710, and 15 deaths were reported, taking the toll to 10,573. Further, 244,843 patients have been discharged in Mumbai. The city’s discharge rate is 90.78%. There are 13,532 active cases in Mumbai and the fatality rate is 3.92%. Dharavi recorded only one new case on Sunday and the tally is 3,620 of which 3,282 have been discharged.