COVID-19: BMC appoints IAS officers in charge of KEM, Sion & Nair hospitals in Mumbai

Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai on Thursday, May 21, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has appointed IAS officers as in-charge of 3 big municipal hospitals in the city. Three IAS officers will now be managing the affairs of Sion Hospital, Nair Hospital, and KEM hospital. As per sources, the main objective of this move is to ensure the availability of beds, smooth availability of facilities, and efficient treatment of COVID-19. As of 6 pm on May 20, Mumbai reported 23,935 confirmed novel coronavirus cases out of which 6,466 patients have been discharged and 841 persons have passed away. 

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Earlier in the day, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal directed civic officials to acquire at least 100 beds including 10 in ICUs of private nursing homes and small hospitals in all 24 wards of Mumbai. As per the BMC, this shall facilitate the availability of 2,400  more beds for COVID-19 patients. Chahal also asked the ward officers to file police complaints against polyclinics, nursing homes and private hospitals that had not opened. He also called for personal protective equipment kits to be provided to private hospitals and nursing homes. 

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Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally rises to 39297

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally swelled to 39,297 after 2,250 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, May 20. There are 27,581 active cases in the state at present. The number of recovered has surged to more than 10,000 with 679 patients being discharged from various hospitals across the state in the day. 65 deaths-41 from Mumbai, 13 from Pune, three from Navi Mumbai, two each from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Ulhasnagar, and Aurangabad were reported on Wednesday taking the state's death toll to 1,390. 48 of the deceased had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc. There are 1849 active containment zones in the state currently. While 4,04,692 persons are in-home quarantine, 26,752 individuals have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. 

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