Not willing to drop guard against Omicron, the BMC has deferred its plan on the future of jumbo COVID centres in the city despite paying daily rent of more than Rs 10 lakh each for them. Earlier, it was supposed to take a call by mid-December, but the corporation will now wait for at least one more month, said officials. Rent apart, it also incurs expenses for electricity, maintenance and staff payment.

The city’s jumbo centres have been a topic of debate, considering that they are nearly empty. Mumbai has nine such facilities that came up as the civic body ramped up capacity to accommodate COVID patients during the first and second waves.