The number of deaths in Mumbai has increased by 24% in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2019, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data. Between January and July 2019, 51,972 people died in Mumbai. The number increased to 64,349 during the same period this year. The BMC plans to analyse the reason behind the rise.
The highest number of deaths were recorded in May when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak. In 2019, 6,832 people died in May while the number surged to 14,085 in the same month this year. This marked a 106% rise in mortality rate.
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Dr Ravikant Singh of NGO Doctors For You said with all focus on Covid-19, other patients were neglected. “In May, almost all hospitals were either converted into dedicated Covid-19 hospitals or partially so. Also, vehicles were not available to ferry patients in emergencies. So, there is a possibility that a large number of non-Covid-19 patients died during this period.”
Dr Lalit Anande, superintendent of Sewri TB hospital, said despite the initial fear that a large number of patients with Tuberculosis (TB) with compromised lungs would succumb to the infection, the death rate is far lesser. “It is a known fact that Mumbai has the highest number of TB cases but thankfully, the virus has not affected the patients. The Covid-19 death rate among TB patients is much lesser than 1%. So certainly, the figure does not include TB patients.”
{{/usCountry}}Dr Lalit Anande, superintendent of Sewri TB hospital, said despite the initial fear that a large number of patients with Tuberculosis (TB) with compromised lungs would succumb to the infection, the death rate is far lesser. “It is a known fact that Mumbai has the highest number of TB cases but thankfully, the virus has not affected the patients. The Covid-19 death rate among TB patients is much lesser than 1%. So certainly, the figure does not include TB patients.”
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Suresh Kakani, BMC’s additional commissioner, highlighted that almost 40% of the people who died in Mumbai were non-residents. “Firstly, a large number of serious non-Covid-19 patients who visited Mumbai for treatment got stuck due to the lockdown. So, when their condition deteriorated, they died. Also, in the initial stage of the pandemic outbreak, we got a large number of Covid-19 patients from Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Palgarh. Even though they were not residents of Mumbai, the BMC had to provide the death certificates.”
Dr Mangala Gomare, BMC’s executive health officer, said they would audit the reasons behind the rise in deaths. “We will case-wise study the cause of deaths among the deceased. Until we do that, we do not have a valid answer on the reason for the rise in fatality rate in Mumbai.”
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