On Wednesday, Mumbai recorded a decline in the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and deaths. Only two deaths were recorded in the city, taking the death toll to 114. The city also recorded 140 new cases taking the tally to 1,896.
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On April 12, the number of deaths in Mumbai was 16, on April 13 the number was 9 and on April 14 it was 11. The number of cases on these days was 152, 242 and 216 respectively.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials said it was too early to read into the statistics. “We are adding the deaths as and when we get the details. On some days, the reports may be delayed. We are all working to reduce the mortality but as of now it is too early to look at any trend,” said Daksha Shah, Deputy Executive Health Officer, BMC.
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A 65-year-old woman with diabetes and hypertension and a 50-year-old woman with no underlying conditions were the two fatalities reported by the BMC. Both the women had succumbed at the Kasturba Hospital on Tuesday. A 55-year-old man from Dharavi who had tested positive succumbed on Wednesday but his death was yet to updated by the civic body.
New strategy
With a new strategy that calls for testing of only symptomatic people, the number of cases may show a decline in the city. The only exceptions will be pregnant women, patients of dialysis, chemotherapy and healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19 patients, who will be tested even if they are asymptomatic. “This has been adopted by other States as well. The asymptomatic contacts will remain under strict quarantine,” said Dr. Shah.
The high death rate in the city has been a cause of concern and a task force appointed by the State has been asked to put all their focus on reducing the mortality. “Based on the inputs we get from senior doctors on the task force, we will formulate protocols to reduce the deaths,” said Subhash Salunkhe, Technical Adviser to Maharashtra on pandemic control. At present, the city has nominated six hospitals as critical care hospitals for COVID-19. These are Nanavati, St George, Saifee, Wockhardt, HBT Trauma Care and Seven Hills Hospitals.
Nurse assaulted
A nurse at the civic-run Cooper Hospital was allegedly assaulted by a pregnant woman on Wednesday. In protest, the nurses stopped work and gathered outside the hospital. No FIR was registered.
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According to the hospital’s dean, Pinakin Gujjar, the pregnant woman had come to the hospital assuming that she was in labour. But the doctors examined and told her that she was not in labour. They, however, advised her to get admitted. The patient did not want to get admitted for fear of COVID-19. “Since the procedure for discharge against medical advice was taking a long time, she got irritated and slapped a nurse,” said Dr. Gujjar. The nurses said the hospital management had failed to provide them with enough security. “We are working in the frontline with the risk of being exposed to COVID-19 patients. But hospital managements had been extremely negligent towards us,” said a nurse.
