Given the increase in cases of hospitals refusing entry to patients, Maharashtra Chief Secretary, Ajoy Mehta has issued a new directive under which steps would be taken by all private and government hospitals to screen patients before entering the premises.
The directive mentions that any patients’ transport within the Mumbai limits will be monitored by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) disaster management control room. As per the directives, each patient will need to be sent to a designated screening room or an emergency room upon arrival.
Upon ascertaining that the patient is free from the virus, admission will be permitted. Additionally, a unique ID will be mandatorily assigned to each patient to make it easier to monitor them. Test results for each suspected patient will reportedly be made available within 12 hours of collecting the swabs.
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Hospitals have been directed to clear the bodies of the deceased from the ward within 30 minutes and ensure that they are buried/cremated in the appropriate manner within 12 hours.
These measures come as hospitals continue to battle with the rising cases of COVID-19. After being sealed recently, Mumbai’s Wockhardt Hospital began operations earlier this week as a COVID-19 hospital for moderate and severe patients.
The hospital also planned to try convalescent plasma therapy for affected patients in a controlled trial. This will be done using plasma from the doctors who recovered from the coronavirus.
More recently, a vegetable vendor in Borivali tested positive for the coronavirus, leading the authorities to tighten social distancing norms in the area. Testing and social distancing continue to be a challenge in clusters and hotspots across the city. In order to curb delay in receiving test results, the BMC recently ordered private labs in the city not to collect swabs from people’s homes.