As the threat of monkeypox looms large, the BMC has reserved 28 beds at Kasturba Hospital for suspected or confirmed cases.  The move followed an interim advisory by the state health department.

In a circular, the civic body said that airport authorities were screening passengers coming from “endemic and non-endemic” countries showing monkeypox outbreaks. For isolation of suspected cases, a separate ward at Kasturba—ward no. 30—is being prepared, and samples will be sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology in Pune.