BMC To Set Up Separate COVID-19 Hospitals For Women In Mumbai As Cases Soar In Maharashtra

Navya Singh

March 27, 2020

As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise in India, Maharashtra has been the epicenter of the deadly pandemic with atleast 130 patients. Keeping in view the current situation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now all set to make separate hospitals dedicated for women who are infected with coronavirus.

Currently, of the total number of 130 positive cases reported in Maharashtra, 44 are in Mumbai.

Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner, health, BMC, said that they have directed all officials to identify hospitals which should be next to maternity homes. ‘It will be a dedicated hospital for women affected with coronavirus and it will be near a maternity home which will benefit women,’ Kakani said.

BMC has equipped several private hospitals with isolation beds, in a bid to combat the virus.

‘The hospitals which are being identified for women will be a 100 bedded isolation ward for corona patients. It is necessary to provide all treatment at one place so that they don’t have to travel. For now, 30 beds have been dedicated,’ he added.

State-run hospitals will soon have isolation wards comprising 500 beds to deal with health crisis and rising number of cases. These hospitals include Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy Hospital, Gokaldas Tejpal Hospital and St George Hospital.

‘The total capacity of these hospitals exclusively for Covid-19 patients is going to be 500 beds. We have also placed an order for 100 ventilator-beds including 500 beds which have been planned in the isolation wards,’ Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean, JJ Hospital, said.

She also said that they have identified the area and started with the preparation for setting up the isolation centres which will begin operations in the next 15 days.

‘We will be able to start operations in the next 10 days as soon as we get the first lot of ventilators. Other required materials for these beds like mattresses, machinery and medical equipment are being ordered,’ she said.

Also Read: Odisha CM Announces 4 Months’ Advance Salary For Doctors, Healthcare Workers Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

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