Nature of the crisis: Why Mumbai is running out of beds for critical Covid patients

Only about 30% patients require hospitalised care in a Dedicated Covid Hospital. But glitches in following protocol, a lag in reacting to changing patient requirements, and inadequate resource-monitoring is leading to inefficient utilisation of critical care beds and equipment.

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Written by Tabassum Barnagarwala , Edited by Explained Desk | Mumbai | Updated: May 16, 2020 7:43:26 pm

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The Maharashtra government sets up a 1000-bed isolation facility at the MMRDA ground in BKC to tackle the rising number of coronavirus infections, in Mumbai, on May 12, 2020. (Express Photo: Prashant Nadkar)

With 17,671 cases and 655 deaths until May 15, Mumbai has the highest Covid-19 burden in the country. Every day, the city is adding close to 1,000 new Covid-19 cases — and racing far ahead of other Indian cities.

The pace of increase of infections has also changed dramatically. So, in the 51 days from March 11 to April 30, the city recorded 7,061 cases — but it has since raced to add over 10,000 cases in just the first 15 days of May.

Maharashtra government statistics show that 27 per cent of Covid-19 infections are symptomatic, while 3 per cent of patients are critical and in need of immediate medical care. While this is only a small percentage of the total cases, the city still faces an acute shortage of hospital beds for these critical patients.