Over 100 Kerala doctors, nurses to help Mumbai fight COVID-19

More than 100 doctors and nurses from Kerala are expected to reach Mumbai in the next few days to join the medical staff here in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mumbai needs more human resources in terms of medical staff. A team of 16 doctors from Kerala is expected to reach Mumbai on Monday, Dr Santhosh Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, told PTI.

Nearly 50 doctors and 100 nurses from Kerala will be in Mumbai in the next few days, said Kumar, who has already reached here along with two other doctors.

"We will be working in the Seven Hills Hospital. It is safe for medical practitioners here and they should volunteer in this effort to fight COVID-19. All doctors who are coming to help the medical staff in Mumbai are working in the private sector back home (Kerala) and have volunteered to assist their fraternity members here," he said.

Kumar said he is working with a Kerala government hospital, but he also volunteered along with private doctors from his state to assist doctors in Mumbai in the fight against COVID-19.

The Seven Hills Hospital, located in Andheri area here, is well-equipped and safe for medical staff, he said. "What is lacking is the human resources. Even doctors from Maharashtra should join in," he said.

Kumar rejected comparisons between the COVID-19 situation in Kerala and Mumbai. "There is no place in Kerala like Mumbai. This is a huge city with 30 million people and slums. Reasons for the infection in both the places are different and hence, strategies to deal with the virus are different," he said.