Navi Mumbai’s civic body, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has stated that there has been a shortage of normal beds along with ICUs and ventilator beds in the COVID-19 hospitals due to the rise in cases of coronavirus in the area.

In view of the situation, NMMC has signed an agreement with the MGM hospital for 100 ICUs and 40 ventilator beds. According to sources, there are 477 beds and 163 ventilators available in Navi Mumbai, including private hospitals and municipalities. As per the rules, 5 per cent of the ICU beds are required for the total number of active patients suffering from the coronavirus. There are 477 ICUs and ventilators available in the city from private and municipal quotas.

As per reports, the civic body of Navi Mumbai already had a system in place as the second wave surged in the state.

The Navi Mumbai area which consists of eight wards and has a population of 1.2 million, has been seeing close to 1,000 cases daily, on average since the beginning of April 2021. Those with mild symptoms must quarantine at home, and a doctor assigned by the COVID-19 war room is to check on them. If a person needs to be admitted to a hospital, the area’s medical officer should be contacted, and they would arrange for a bed at the nearest COVID-19 Care Centre. This system was put in place following the pandemic, which raged through the state last year.

Even though the corporation’s capacity has increased in the last year, in an unfortunate scenario, people are reportedly still dealing with the repercussions of not finding a bed on time.