Mumbai: BMC to release asymptomatic patients to ensure beds for needy

As COVID19 cases are going up rapidly in Mumbai the city civic body on Monday decided to discharge asymptomatic patients at the earliest to vacate beds for the patients with more serious symptomsThe civic body has also decided to place the order for procuring 15 lakh injections of antiviral drug Remdesivir and other medical equipment to avoid any potential shortage of medicines at hospitals a senior official saidIn its order the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC said that no asymptomatic COVID19 positive patient without any comorbidities will be allotted a COVID bed in any public or private hospitalIt described the needy patient as the one with mild or serious symptoms or a COVID19 patient with comorbidities Mumbai on Sunday reported the highest singleday rise in COVID19 cases by adding 6923 new infections taking the total tally to 398674BMC commissioner I S Chahal has empowered assistant commissioners to take decisions at the ward level and stressed activation of war rooms at the ward level for better management of available beds ICU beds ventilators among others as per the orderChahal stated all admissions should be routed through the ward level war rooms to avoid any chaos experienced during the first wave of coronavirus when several patients ran from the pillar to post to get a bedThe civic chief also pointed out that direct admission in any COVID Care Centre or private hospitals will not be permitted without prior intimation to the ward war roomNo asymptomatic COVID19 positive patient without any comorbidities be allotted COVID bed in any publicprivate hospital to ensure prompt availability of beds to the needy Urgently discharge any asymptomatic COVID positive patients admitted to any COVID hospital to vacate the beds Chahal saidThe order stated that 80 per cent of the total beds and 100 per cent of ICU beds in private hospitals shall be kept reserved only for the allotment through the ward war rooms for COVID19 patientsNo direct admissions on these reserved beds to be taken by hospitals the order said Chahal directed all hospitals in the megapolis to charge patients as per the rates notified by the Maharashtra government All the bills will be audited by the municipal auditors the commissioner saidChahal also directed officials to immediately assess the structural stability and fire audit of all COVID facilities As on March 25 there are 8466 nonICU beds and 931 ICU beds being operationalised at the hospitals run by the government and the BMC the order saidMeanwhile the BMC has also decided to place the order for procuring 15 lakh injections of antiviral drug Remdesivir and other medical equipment to avoid any potential shortage of medicines at hospitals A senior official said a sizeable number of new cases are being reported from highrise buildingsWe are worried due to the rising number of COVID19 cases in the city which is a hub of major industrial and financial institutions To treat coronavirus positive patients we need to buy as many 15 lakh vials of Remdesivir injection so that we can cover maximum patientsWe want to avoid any shortage of medicines by hospitals or treatment centres said Suresh Kakani additional municipal commissioner health BMC Remdesivir is a broadspectrum antiviral medication Because of a steady rise in new cases the Maharashtra government recently decided to purchase additional oxygen cylinders and ventilators for various COVID treatment centresMaharashtra on Sunday reported 40414 coronavirus positive cases the highest rise so far in a single day taking its tally to 2713875 just two days after the caseload reached 26 lakh as per the state health departmentIn a meeting held with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Health Minister Rajesh Tope and other officials on Sunday principal secretary to state health department Dr Pradeep Vyas had predicted a tremendous stress on the availability of beds oxygen supply and ventilators which could fall short if the cases continue to go upThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever