“Jumbo hospitals must be kept adequately staffed and put on alert...,” he told the BMC’s health department. He asked officials to conduct a structural audit of all jumbo facilities, which are makeshift facilities, to ensure that there is no danger to the structures during monsoon.With Mumbai witnessing a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Friday asked his officials to conduct testing camps in areas and housing societies where clusters of cases are being reported, to equip jumbo facilities, private hospitals and ward war rooms and also be vigilant in preventing monsoon-related diseases.
Following a meeting at the BMC headquarters, Chahal told civic officials, “Given the possibility of a fourth wave and also water-borne diseases due to the onset of monsoon, BMC departments should be equipped to handle the situation.”
He added that experts from IIT-Kanpur have indicated that the fourth wave of Covid-19 will arrive in July and that “their warning must be taken seriously”.
Chahal asked the staff to ramp up testing from the current below 10,000 to 30,000-40,000 per day. Currently, Mumbai’s test positivity rate – the number of positive cases detected among the tests conducted – is 8 per cent.
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“Jumbo hospitals must be kept adequately staffed and put on alert…,” he told the BMC’s health department. He asked officials to conduct a structural audit of all jumbo facilities, which are makeshift facilities, to ensure that there is no danger to the structures during monsoon.
Chahal said that the drive to vaccinate children in the 12-18 age group and administering booster doses for adults should be ramped up. A campaign at the ward level should be initiated to boost the vaccination coverage, he added.
Additional municipal commissioner (western suburbs) Dr Sanjeev Kumar Friday met medical lab directors and instructed them to be ready to conduct more tests daily. The labs were reminded not to share positive test results directly with patients. Instead, all positive reports should be shared with the BMC, which in turn will inform the patients.
Kumar is also working to set up a system to record the number of self-testing kits being sold by chemists.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Covid Task Force chief Dr Sanjay Oak said that the next fortnight will be crucial. “It is important to increase the number of tests being conducted… Since the beginning of the pandemic, the chief minister and his deputy have been regularly wearing masks. People must also follow this.”
“In addition to Covid-19 cases, we will also face the challenge of water-borne diseases that are reported during the monsoon. Efforts should be made to vaccinate all eligible citizens through campaigns like Har Ghar Dastak,” he added.
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