Mumbai recorded 1,380 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, taking its tally to 56,831. The city also reported 69 more fatalities, pushing its death toll to 2,113.
Mumbai now accounts for 54% of Maharashtra’s cumulative cases and 55% of the total deaths. Of the latest fatalities, 47 were men and 22 were women. Nearly 47 victims had co-morbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.
The city currently has 1,019 critical patients and intensive care unit (ICU) beds are crucial in saving their lives. Even through the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has augmented the number of ICU beds, there continues to be a shortfall. On Saturday, 98% of the city’s 1,177 beds were occupied.
“We are acquiring ICU beds at the ward level and the number of beds is being increased every day. For example, the Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri was not on the list and the assistant commissioner has now added beds from there,” said Dr. Daksha Shah, deputy executive health officer, BMC. She said the city has more than 8,000 patients, who are under home isolation and are being followed up through calls.
Most cases in K East ward
K East ward, comprising Vile Parle (East), Andheri (East) and Jogeshwari (East), now has the highest number of COVID-19 cases at 3,782. It is followed by G North (Dharavi, Dadar, Mahim), with 3,729 cases, and L Ward (Kurla, Sakinaka), with 3,373 cases. Dharavi recorded 17 more cases, taking its tally to 2,030.
With limited intervention at hand to fight the virus, the BMC is now pushing for convalescent plasma therapy at its Indian Council of Medical Research approved trial sites: Kasturba and Nair hospitals.
While seven patients have received plasma therapy in Kasturba, six have received it in Nair.
31 plasma donors
So far, 31 recovered patients with antibodies have come forward to donate their plasma. Nair hospital has introduced a technique called chemiluminescent immunoassay, which checks if the donor has adequate levels of antibodies. The technology will be made available at other BMC hospitals, including KEM, which will start collecting plasma soon.