Fadnavis urges Maharashtra govt to create a dashboard for bed availability in Mumbai

Former Maharashtra CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday urged Maha Vikas Aghadi government to create a dashboard for bed availability in Mumbai. Fadnavis stated that he had received multiple calls regarding people having to run from pillar to post as hospitals were t admitting m. He opined that such a dashboard should be publicly accessible so that individuals can get accurate information pertaining to treatment based on availability of beds. As of 6 pm on May 17, Mumbai has reported 19,967 COVID-19 cases and 734 casualties. 

Read: COVID-19 Cases In Mumbai Surge Close To 20,000 Mark With 1571 New Patients

Read: Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray, 8 Ors Take Oath As MLCs

Capacity for COVID-19 treatment to be increased to 1 lakh beds

Speaking to media on May 17, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Iqbal Chahal revealed that civic body shall soon increase bed capacity for COVID-19 treatment to one lakh in Mumbai. Chahal mentioned that an 800-bed facility at MMRDA ground in Bandra-Kurla complex will start functioning from May 18 onwards. ting that parking lot at Mumbai airport could be used to accommodate 50,000 beds,  BMC Commissioner also said that beds could be put up at two parking lots near Santacruz and Breach Candy Hospital. 

Additionally, he dismissed possibility of converting Wankhede Stadium into a quarantine facility. To buttress his point, he cited that an open ground would t be useful for this purpose during upcoming monsoon in Mumbai. Highlighting that most of COVID-19 cases were being reported from 690 containment zones in Mumbai, he informed reporters that civic body's ambulance strength had been increased from 80 to 350. 

Read: Maharashtra Sees Highest 1-day Spike With 2347 Cases; State Extends Lockdown Till May 31

Testing rms in Mumbai

Meanwhile, Public Health Department of BMC explained that testing in Mumbai was taking place as per ICMR guidelines. For instance, any person having a fever, cough, or breathing difficulty is being tested only after producing a prescription from a registered medical practitioner. Moreover, it stated that close contacts of confirmed cases with symptoms, all pregnant women (expecting delivery in 4-5 days) coming from containment zones, patients on haemodialysis with symptoms are being tested. BMC stressed that COVID-19 testing was neir required for persons completing home quarantine duration r at time of discharge for mild or moderate cases from hospitals. 

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: As India Enters Lockdown 4.0, COVID-19 Cases Rise To 96,169