BMC Asking Hospitals to Discharge Asymptomatic Cases So as to Increase Capacity for Serious Patients

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sent out a directive to the city’s private and civic-run hospitals to make sure beds are available for those that need it most, especially the elderly and those with comorbidities. The authorities have previously asked hospitals to prioritize admission for patients considered high-risk.

In the directive sent out by the BMC’s Public Health Dept on September 19, private hospitals have been asked to immediately discharge asymptomatic COVID19 patients to free up beds for high-risk patients. Asymptomatic patients are recommended to take up home quarantine so as to not overload the health infrastructure.

Executive Health Officer at the BMC, Dr Mangala Gomare said - “All public and private hospitals are instructed that no asymptomatic Covid-19 positive patient shall be given admission to ensure prompt availability of beds for the needy and genuinely deserving symptomatic patients. All asymptomatic patients admitted to various public and private hospitals shall be urgently discharged.”

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The civic body has also made some changes to the discharge policies wherein mildly symptomatic patients at Covid Care Centre or CCC-2 facilities can be discharged if they haven’t had a fever in three days. Such patients can be discharged without testing as long as it has been 10 days since the symptoms first appeared.

The same applies to patients with moderate symptoms as per the new directive. The civic body policy further mentions that those with moderate symptoms should be provided with an oxygen bed, and they can be discharged after 10 days without testing as long as there’s no fever reported in the past three days. Asymptomatic patients that reside in slums or other densely populated areas shall be moved to CCC-2 facilities, the authorities said.