Image Courtesy:thequint.com
On Wednesday, the number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai crossed the 10,000 mark reaching 10,527, with 769 new cases and 25 new cases. The death toll has reached 412. From the issue of disposal of dead bodies to jail inmates contracting the infection to new hotspots emerging and blood banks in the city running dry, the city is gearing to brace for the worse.
As Mumbai grapples with the infection, a hospital in the city has come under the scanner for keeping dead patients next to Covid-19 patients, cited various media reports.
After a video by a BJP MLA purportedly showing dead bodies being kept next to patients at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Hospital also known as the Sion hospital went viral, an inquiry has been ordered into the incident. The hospital is run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and on Thursday, the organization set up a committee to look into why the bodies weren’t removed. It asked the hospital to confirm whether the incident took place in its premises, and to take action against those responsible for keeping bodies for hours in wards where patients are undergoing treatment, reported The Indian Express.
The video circulating on social media showed patients lying on their beds and next to them, on four bodies wrapped in black plastic. In some cases a bedsheet covered the plastic wrapping. The video is allegedly from ward number 3, a Covid-19 isolation ward. A family member of a patient is also seen, even though visitors are barred according to rules.
In Sion hospital..patients r sleeping next to dead bodies!!!
This is the extreme..what kind of administration is this!
Very very shameful!! @mybmc pic.twitter.com/NZmuiUMfSW— nitesh rane (@NiteshNRane) May 6, 2020
Ashraf Azmi, local corporator, said that he had received complaints from patients about the issue of delay in disposal of bodies. He said, “I had inquired about this two weeks ago with the hospital. I was told that there is a shortage of class IV staffers for this job.”
Citing that manpower was a major hurdle in the smooth operation of running facilities, he added, “Bodies remain in the ward for a long time unless a ward boy moves it out,” also saying that similar issues have arisen in KEM and Nair hospital that are running at full capacity but do not have 100 percent staff.
According to the Health Ministry guidelines on dealing with bodies, a body a body must be disposed at the earliest to prevent infection risk. The guidelines say the body must be sealed in a plastic bag to avoid leakage of fluids and disinfected with sodium hypochlorite solution. Maharashtra’s guidelines on April 30 mandated that a body must be removed within 30 minutes from a ward. In line with this, Sion hospital issued fresh guidelines on May 2 to dispose bodies.
The hospital occasionally records half-a-dozen Covid-19 deaths in a single day. Clarifying the delay in the disposal of bodies, Dean, Dr. Pramod Ingale said that on several occasions, family members are not available or don’t answer calls following death of a patient. In some cases, kin and relatives refuse to take bodies fearing the risk of infection. He said, “It our responsibility to hand over all bodies with dignity at the earliest. We do not know whether this video was taken before guidelines were issued on May 2 or after that. We will take action accordingly.”
The Times of India reported him saying, “Since most patients are in isolation, we have to call relatives to the hospital. We also have to inform the police. We cannot simply move bodies or proceed with cremation.”
A forensic doctor from the hospital said, “Civic hospitals generally avoid transfer of a COVID-19 body to mortuary to keep mortuary staffers safe. No autopsy is being performed. Most bodies are handed over to family from the ward directly. If there is a delay the body continues to remain there. Staffers are also scared in handling dead bodies.”
BDD chawls at Worli and NM Joshi Marg sealed
After Worli Koliwada and Jijamata Nagar, the BDD chawls at Worli and NM Joshi Marg which have emerged as new hotspots with about 70 cases of Covid-19, have been sealed for the next seven days in order to implement a strict lockdown there.
After BMC found it difficult to implement social distancing norms with most residents frequently stepping, it was decided that the chawls be sealed.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, who is also the corporator from Worli, said that the BDD chawls will be sealed for a week.
“It has been observed that despite these areas reporting a high number of cases, people are not taking social distancing norms seriously. A large number of people are always out on the roads… Many times BMC and police personnel have visited the area and made announcements urging them to stay at home. However, people still come out. I have written to the police to implement strict lockdown by sealing the entrance of these chawls,” Pednekar said.
The G South Ward has reported around 900 cases. Officials say around 350 people from there have been cured and 50 have passed away. An official said, ““Nearly 9,600 people live in about 120 BDD chawls in these two hotspots. Seven roads lead to these BDD chawls and all will be shut.”
BDD chawls pose a challenge to the BMC due to the 180 sq ft rooms in three storey old buildings have a common passage and toilets on each floor. Also large families staying in cramped small houses, make it difficult for everyone to stay at home.
72 inmates in Mumbai jail contract coronavirus
Maharashtra Home Minister on Thursday said that almost 72 inmates of the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai have contracted coronavirus and will be quarantined separately. “These prisoners will be quarantined with the help of the Mumbai civic body,” he said.
The state government had earlier isolated eight prisons in the state, including the Arthur Road prison stating that no new person will be allowed to enter and those insides, including jail staff, will not be allowed to leave prison during the lockdown, reported The New Indian Express.
However, despite the isolation precautions, 72 inmates of the Arthur Road prison were found to have contracted the infection after they came in contact with a cook who had the virus.
Deshmukh also said that to prevent the spread of the virus in jails, the state government had decided to release on parole some 5,000 prisoners who have been sentenced to less than seven years’ imprisonment.
Earlier, 4,060 out of 11,000 prisoners had been released on interim bail or parole.
Blood banks face shortage
Blood banks in the city are staring at an acute shortage of blood, with some reporting that their stocks have already expired this week. The reasons – donors are keeping away from hospitals for the fear of contracting the coronavirus and donation camps in red zones have been called off at the last minute by the police.
The government and activists are now roping in housing societies to organise smaller camps to shore up supply, which an activist said could only last 10 days. Activists are concerned not only about patients needing regular blood transfusion, but worry that requirement might go up with some elective surgeries postponed at the beginning of the lockdown likely to be scheduled again, reported The Times of India.
An official from the State Blood Transfusion Council (SBTC) said they are facing hurdles, and are trying to reach out to housing societies, NSS units and even activating mobile vans for collection. “The problem is not unique to our city, it is now a global problem. We are appealing to mandals to hold micro-blood camps for a group of five to 10 people wherever possible by following social distancing norms. We are working with organisations and mandals to rope in as many housing societies as possible,” said the official.
After Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and state health minister Rajesh Tope had appealed for people to donate blood, several camps were conducted at the end of March and the first week of April. The city then had enough supply for all of April. However, regular donors were seeing shying away due to the soaring cases of the infection in the city.
An official working at one of the government blood banks said they usually face a shortage every year in May and June due to vacations. “But with this pandemic, the situation is worse. We usually seek help from hospital and police staff. This time many are busy on Covid duty and some are worried about their own immunity. Hospitals having thalassaemia units are worst-hit,” said the official.
Vice President of the Think Foundation, Vinay Shetty too said that stocks were enough only for the next 9 – 10 days. Saying that the supply was running dangerously thin, he mentioned, “While the daily requirement is 900 units, it has come down to 400-450 during lockdown. If we consider this requirement, we have stocks enough to last only 9-10 days. The requirement may go up in the coming days as many surgeries that were put off earlier will be scheduled now. One cannot postpone these surgeries indefinitely. They can only be delayed by a month or two. Not just thalassaemia, cancer patients too are in need of blood supply.”
The organisation is sharing a module with housing societies, and on receiving an affirmative response, they are coordinating with the nearest blood bank to help with the donation. Interested societies can connect with it at 098201 46448.
Related: