Every day for over 10 days, a 39-year-old mechanic has been driving down to Mumbai from his house in Virar, to sanitise the vehicles of the police and the BMC. Vijay Kumar Babanna Rajappa runs a small garage opposite the Siddhivinayak temple at Prabhadevi. It has been closed since the lockdown, but Rajappa, who wanted to do something for our frontline warriors in the battle against COVID-19, has been helping them free of cost. So far he has sanitised over 150 vehicles.

Rajappa has sanitised all the vehicles of police stations at Shivaji Park, Mahim, Dadar, Virar and Arnala. He was given a letter of appreciation from many police stations for this. "We gave a letter of appreciation to Rajappa for helping the police department by sanitising our vehicles including mobile vans, cars, beat Marshal's bikes etc. It protects us from this virus while traveling from one place to another place," said Sunayana Nate, inspector of Dadar police station.

Virar corporator Maya Chaudhary said, "We took Rajappa's help to sanitise municipal emergency service vehicles, buses, police vehicles and auto rickshaws in Vasai-Virar. Rajappa is doing great work without charging for it. We have also asked him to sanitise vehicles used by doctors, nurses and ward officers."

'Keeping our police safe'
"Every day the police deal with many people including accused and have to take them to police stations or courts. Currently these may include COVID-19 positive people. The accused touch many areas inside the vehicle. So I decided to clean their vehicles and keep all our police personnel safe from the danger. I also clean the bikes of beat Marshals. If their vehicles are safe, they are safe," said Rajappa.

Rajappa even explained the process of cleaning the vehicles. At first he washes a vehicle with water from both inside and out. "Then I wash it with diesel and dry the entire vehicle. Then I use a litre of water mixed with sanitiser and apply it to the vehicle. It takes me an hour to completely clean a car. I use a sanitiser which is WHO and FDA-approved. It is only used on the metallic body of cars and bikes."

'Sanitisation helps'
He added, "If a person who is infected by COVID-19 travels in the car, there are chances it can spread to others who use the vehicle. The air-conditioning can also increase chances of spreading this virus, but if we sanitise the vehicle, there are no chances of the virus spreading." He claimed after a vehicle is sanitised, it is safe for about 15 days. He now wants to approach hospitals to sanitise ambulances.

Rajappa has been working as a mechanic since 1999. The usual charges for deep washing of vehicles are around R300-R500 each, but he has not been charging for the same.

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Ruling out lifting of lockdown after May 3 from across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked states to decide on their lockdown guidelines depending on the prevailing situation on the ground. He said the pandemic was far from over and hence the country needed a balance between the lockdown and the efforts of keeping normalcy in daily life.

Modi told chief ministers on Monday that the lockdown had yielded positive results and the country had managed to save thousands of lives in the past 45 days.

"Our aim must be rapid response, and 'do gaz doori' (physical distancing)," he said, adding that the states where positive cases were higher should not be treated as criminals.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray is reported to have supported the lockdown where it is needed most. He also said on Sunday that the lockdown could be lifted after May 3 only if the situation allowed. Union Home Minister Amit Shah reaffirmed the need to enforce lockdown so that maximum lives were saved.

Amid rising concerns about a weakening economy, Modi said that efforts of states should be directed towards converting red zones into orange and thereafter to green zones.

"We have to be brave and bring in reforms that touch the lives of common citizens. We have to give importance to the economy as well as continue the fight against COVID-19. The impact of Coronavirus will remain visible in the coming months, masks and face covers will be part of our life," he said.

"India's population is comparable to that of the combined population of several countries. The situation in many countries, including India, was almost similar at the beginning of March. However, due to timely measures, India has been able to protect many people," the PM said, emphasising that the danger of the virus was far from over and constant vigilance was of paramount importance.

Cabinet meet tomorrow
He said, "This is the time we used technology as much as possible and utilised time to embrace reform measures," the PM said.

Sources said the Union cabinet would discuss the matter on Wednesday. In all likelihood, the decision on lifting or easing lockdown is expected to be announced at least four days before the deadline of May 3.

State home minister Anil Deshmukh who also participated in the CM's interaction with PM said in Nagpur that the red zones where higher cases of COVID existed would in probability continue to have lockdown."Orange and green zone may get lockdown relaxed and CM himself would announce about it," he said.

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A doctor working at a hospital for treatment of coronavirus patients here in Maharashtra has revealed the tough task and challenges they face in collecting swab samples of the suspected patients. The process of swab sample collection of a person does not take more than 30 to 40 seconds, but it is a "high-risk job", Dr Pushkar Dahiwal, who collects 80 to 100 swab samples in a day at the government hospital in Aurangabad, told PTI.

"We work for three days and then remain self- quarantined for 14 days," he informed. During the six-hour duty, doctors have to keep wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE) and amidst the fast-paced work, they do not even get a chance to drink water, he said. "We need to finish the work in a short time to avoid contact with patients and also with those who come to give their swab samples," the doctor said. A 10 to 12 cm long stick is used to collect a sample from a person's throat, while the stick used for collecting a sample from the nose is comparatively longer and thinner, he said.

"Before the person coughs or sneezes, we need to finish the sample collection. Being a dentist, I have the practice of handling the patient's mouth area," he said. Dahiwal also said that at times they need to counsel coronavirus suspects as some of them think they don't have the infection but carry fear in mind. "Some of the people think the test is something different and dangerous. But, we explain the procedure to them so that there should be no need to collect another sample of the person," Dahiwal said.

The nurse and other accompanying staff also need to stay alert as the swab samples are to be sealed immediately and kept in a proper storage facility, he said. "If the swab sample falls, it would be a problem. All these things have to be completed in a very short span of time. So, there is no scope for mistake," he added. Dahiwal also recalled that he took care of victims of the 26/11 terror attack in 2008 at the Saint George Hospital in Mumbai. "I left the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai just 20 minutes before the attack began. At that time, we had feared the attackers may come from any side. That incident keeps coming to my mind every time when I collect swab samples of suspected coronavirus patients," he said.

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A nine-months pregnant woman was turned away from hospitals in Bandra for not having the COVID-19 reports with her. According to her family, 24-year-old Misbah Shaikh was experiencing cramps on Sunday night after which they visited the Holy Family Hospital where she had registered for delivery. The family members alleged that they were made to wait at the hospital for six hours while requesting to admit her, but the staff did not budge, The Times of India reported.

Shaikh said that she had already paid the hospital the deposit for her delivery and was in touch with a gynaecologist for the past four months. She also alleged that the hospital did not tell her to do the test during their previous visits. The family visited the hospital at 9 am on Monday after Shaikh felt cramps, but the staff did not allow them to enter the hospital without the COVID-19 test report. While Shaikh waited in the car and her family in the hospital, at 3 pm, a doctor at the emergency section agreed to see her and prescribed her a COVID-19 test.

The family then went to Bhabha Hospital to get the test done but the staff there asked her to get admitted, which they did not agree upon. "The cramps have reduced but haven't gone. My due date for delivery is close," Shaikh was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The family then took an appointment at a lab Andheri to take the test on Tuesday.

As the newspaper was not able to contact the authorities at the Holy Family Hospital, a staffer at the gynaecology ward was quoted as saying that pregnant women nearing their delivery due date are asked to get admitted here two days in prior. "We carry out a Covid-19 test and if she comes negative, we go ahead with the delivery. If the woman is positive, we refer her to another hospital. We also ask one attendant accompanying the woman to take the test," the staffer was quoted as saying.

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After the death of three police constables within 48 hours, the police have rolled out a 10-point strategy to tackle the COVID-19 infection in its force that comprises around 45,000 personnel — both constables and officers. Apart from resting its senior members and changing duty patterns, the police have now begun administering Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to cops along with multivitamin tablets. Provisions will also be made for stay and nutritional food for cops till the lockdown lasts.

This will go on till the lockdown lasts. Ever since the pandemic broke out, senior cops have been given desk jobs but the infection spread among a few policemen and their family members.

Also Read: Exclusive: After Third Cop Dies Of COVID-19, Mumbai Police Sends Personnel Above 55 On Leave

"Our personnel are risking their lives to protect the city. Keeping their personal health and immunity strong has been a major priority for us," DCP (PRO) Pranay Ashok told mid-day, adding, "We have initiated a strategy to tackle it."

Accordingly, all cops above 55 years of age have been asked to stay at home, cops above 52 years of age with previous medical conditions have also been asked to stay home. The duty hours will also be changed from 8-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts and giving cops 24 hours off after that.

Around 12,000 cops will soon be administered with HCQ under medical supervision. Multivitamin tablets and protein supplements too will be given to 20,000 cops to strengthen their immunity.

Apart from this, police personnel will have the following special services:

1. Designated hospitals and dedicated beds in all COVID hospitals.

2. COVID Helpline number for personnel and families at the control room to resolve any doubts or issues.

3. Adequate number of PPEs, face masks, hand-sanitisers, gloves, face shields.

4. Amenities like food packets, ration, hot water flasks, pandals at checkpoints

5. Accommodation facilities

6. '50 lakh ex-gratia amount to all personnel who lose their lives fighting COVID (by the government).

12,000
No. of cops who will soon be administered with HCQ under medical supervision

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Mumbai on Tuesday reported the highest death toll due to COVID-19 in a single day. There was a significant increase in the number of cases in Aurangabad and Malegaon. State health officials recorded 729 new cases in Maharashtra and 31 deaths, taking the state's total to 400 deaths. Apart from 25 deaths in Mumbai, four were recorded in Jalgaon and two in Pune. Maharashtra now has 9,318 postive cases.

393 new cases in city
Civic officials said a total of 25 deaths were reported in the city on Tuesday. Of these, five died between April 23-25, and 17 of them were suffering from other ailments. According to the civic body, 393 new infections were confirmed in the city on Tuesday. The patients are admitted in isolation wards and are undergoing treatment.

After a dip in the number of cases, the COVID-19 count rose in G North ward with 42 new cases in Dharavi, five in Mahim and four in Dadar. Four deaths were also reported in Dharavi. Civic officials said two of the patients who died — a 60-year-old man and a 60-year -old woman — had tested positive earlier and died at Sion Hospital while undergoing treatment.

Total 18 deaths in Dharavi so far
Two other patients — a 48-year old man from Kasarwadi and a 55-year-old man from Social Nagar in Dharavi — were confirmed to have contracted the deadly respiratory disease and died at KEM Hospital on Tuesday. As of now, a total of 330 positive cases and 18 deaths have been reported from Dharavi.

Civic officials said that seven of the infected people are residents of 90 feet road, while four others are from Mukund Nagar, and majority of them were aged below 60 years. In Mahim, a 35-year-old female resident of the police colony tested positive and the total number of cases in the area has jumped to 30. In Dadar, two 44 -year-old male residents of the municipal quarters and a 47-year-old woman from the police colony have tested positive.

On Monday, four staffers from the Mantralaya had tested positive. After tracing their contacts, civic officials said that they identified around 25 high-risk contacts and all of them have been tested. Their test results, however, are still awaited. Meanwhile, one COVID-19 patient with severe symptoms was given plasma therapy that will help the patient fight the infection.

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A senior citizen from Kalina, Anwari Begum, 70, died after three top hospitals in the city refused to give her dialysis without her COVID-19 test results being in, the woman's family has claimed. The test results, which arrived on Monday, returned negative.

Begum had been undergoing dialysis at Guru Nanak Hospital in Bandra East for the past one year. Her last dialysis at the hospital was on April 18, when a COVID-19 positive patient was found in the hospital. The hospital asked her to visit on April 22 — which was also the day of her next dialysis — for a COVID-19 test.

Anwari Begum's two sons (from left) Zakaria Shaikh, Haroon Shaikh and Mohammed Hasan (right ) her son-in-law

"My mother-in-law's COVID-19 test was done on Wednesday, April 22. She was also supposed to get dialysis on the same day but the hospital refused, saying they will do it only after her test results come, which was going to take 48 hours. On Thursday, she had severe pain and needed the dialysis urgently. So we went to the hospital around 4 pm but they refused as her reports were pending. We waited for over two hours at the hospital, but they did not listen," said Mohammed Hasan, Begum's son-in-law.

"After Guru Nanak, we approached Nanavati Hospital. Many other patients like us were stopped at the gate. They took her files and after two hours, enquired about her COVID-19 test report and said that they are not taking outside patients. Some from the family took her to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital around 8.30 pm and I went to look for a dialysis centre in Kalina and Sakinaka. At Kokilaben, my family was asked to finish formalities, which took two hours, but they too refused to treat her," Hasan said.

Guru Nanak Hospital in Bandra East. File pic

Found help, but too late
Dialysis patients all over the city have been suffering amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Despite guidelines from the State Health Department that do not necessitate a COVID-19 test for patients needing dialysis and only ask hospitals to take universal precautions, hospitals across the city are refusing to treat patients without the test.

Hospitals say that they are overburdened due to the closure of dialysis centres which has increased the volume of patients with kidney ailments and that they cannot accommodate every patient.

Hasan approached Axon Hospital in Sakinaka, which said that the dialysis centre is closed as their staff is unwell. "I requested them explaining the condition of my mother-in-law and pleaded with folded hands to have mercy. I also promised to pay whatever amount is required. After some time, the concerned doctor listened to me and called his dialysis staff. My mother-in-law reached the hospital around 11 pm. At 11.30 pm, the assistant doctor told me that her condition has worsened."
Begum died shortly after that. Her test results, which came on Monday, showed her negative for Coronavirus.

"The funeral was performed the next day at 10 am. Sometime later, I received a call from the person who had referred us to the nephrologist at Guru Nanak Hospital. He was apparently told by someone from the hospital that my mother tested positive. We live in a joint family and everyone panicked but no one from the hospital called us. A few days later, we got her report, which was negative," Hasan said.

According to BMC's Health Department, a COVID-19 test is not mandatory for dialysis patients. "Everyone has to take universal precautions, a COVID-19 test report is not mandatory," said Dr. Daksha Shah, BMC's deputy executive health officer.

"24 hours after sanitising the dialysis centre, the hospital can resume services as per the guidelines. If they suspect a patient to be positive, he/she can be quarantined," Dr Shah added.

'Followed task force rules'
Guru Nanak Hospital defended itself saying it was just following guidelines of the state government's task force committee, as per which, an affected dialysis centre must close for fumigation and surface cleaning. "Our dialysis centre is open 24x7. That day, a COVID-19 case was reported. As per the rules, we had to shut the dialysis centre for 24 hours, sanitise the area and quarantine the staff. Around seven workers from the dialysis centre were quarantined. They have tested negative," said Dr. Narendra Sharma, spokesperson of the hospital, who did not clearly remember on which day the case was reported.

"Dialysis patients travel through Containment Zones. Despite taking all precautions, such incidents are happening, which is the biggest challenge for us," Sharma said.

"As per my knowledge, the case was reported on Saturday. We needed the dialysis on Thursday. That makes five days. Why did Guru Nanak Hospital refuse to treat her when it is supposed to be shut only for 24 hours?" Hasan said.

Dr. Santosh Shetty, executive director and CEO, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, said, "We are not testing our existing dialysis patients. We take patients' history and screen them before every dialysis. Currently, we have nearly 200 patients on dialysis. We are following BMC and state task force's guidelines."

While the spokesperson of Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital said, "Nanavati Hospital is one of the very few quaternary care medical facilities in Mumbai to provide dialysis treatment for COVID-19 patients. Thus the high influx of patients ensures dialysis beds reserved for patients as per their COVID-19 status are occupied. However, the unavailability of a bed is immediately communicated to the patient or their family."

Apr 22
Day Anwari Begum was tested for Coronavirus

Apr 27
Day her test returned negative, four days after her death

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In efforts to provide assistance to the medical fraternity in fighting the battle against the deadly Coronavirus pandemic, Western Railway has come up with various ingenious equipment, including high-quality PPEs, steel beds for patients, isolation coaches, reusable masks, sanitizers, etc.

Continuing with their efforts, Western Railway's Lower Parel Workshop has now manufactured a booth to collect the swab sample of COVID-19 infected patients. This booth enables doctors and medicos to take the sample/swab without exposing themselves to the affected patient.

According to Ravinder Bhakar - Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, a request to make a kiosk with the concept of distance sample collection had come from Western Railway's Jagjivan Ram Hospital, which is a nominated 172-bed Coronavirus hospital. The work was done on war footing mode right from arranging the material, fabrication, and furnishing and was completed within 6 hours. The design has been developed by two teams of workshop engineers (Carriage Repair and Basic Training Centre), who manufactured this booth with the available material in the workshop.

The booth is very sturdy and robust & completely sealed from the front three sides, to ensure that the frontline medical staff is totally isolated from the patient. The structure of the booth consists of a strong fabricated structure of MS square tubes, covered externally with plywood on all sides, and a rear door. The upper half portion of the front side has been covered with a 6 mm transparent acrylic sheet. All material used for repair of coaches has been used in this fabrication. The front side transparent acrylic sheet has been provided with two holes on which rubber hand gloves have been permanently fitted. The team worked against the clock to make the Sample Collection Booth as fast as they can and on April 28, 2020, the newly manufactured booth has been delivered to Jagjivan Ram Hospital at Mumbai Central.

Although it is a coach repair workshop, in this time of crisis, it has contributed in making many other materials helpful for our frontline warriors, working day in and out in hospitals beside our employees. The manufacturer team was led by Shri Arun Kumar Singh - Dy. Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Workshop, and consisted of his technical experts Shri Prashant Deshmukh, Shri Satish Samrut, Shri Arvind Javadia, Shri Sanjai Bhavsar, Shri Manoj Yadav, Shri Mahesh Bhatia, Shri Pradeep Tamboli, Shri Natrajan and along with 10 other members in the team contributed in this effort.

Western Railway salutes the commitment and dedication of its employees who are constantly working to fight this ongoing battle with the deadly Coronavirus Pandemic despite putting their lives at risk.

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Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases, Mumbai Police, who are well known for their witty memes and inspirational posts make sure to educate and entertain the citizens. After taking inspiration from Bollywood films, the Mumbai police have now turned towards web series and their latest tweet is proof enough!

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

When asked to choose the safest city... #ShotsOfSafetyPlease #MumbaiFirst #SafetyFirst #aayamumbaipolice

A post shared by Mumbai Police (@mumbaipolice) onApr 28, 2020 at 3:44am PDT

Using a short clip from one of the popular web series, Mumbai Police proved why the city that never sleeps is the safest city in the world. Posing an indirect question to netizens as to which is the safest city across the globe, the clip from the web series gives a picture-perfect answer.

In the four seconds video clip, actors Sayani Gupta and Prateik Babbar can be seen sitting on a yacht and enjoying quiet time while sailing in the Arabian Sea amid the backdrop of the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace. It is during the conversation that the two can be seen talking about Mumbai (then Bombay).

While sharing the scene from the web series, Mumbai Police tweeted: When asked to choose the safest city. "I would choose Bombay over any other city in the world, any day," says Sayani. To which Prateik nods in agreement. Mumbai Police also came up with their own hashtags that read: #ShotsOfSafetyPlease #MumbaiFirst #SafetyFirst #aayamumbaipolice.

Since the time it was shared on Instagram with their 75,000 followers, the video has garnered over 60,000 views and counting. The video touched the hearts of thousands of Mumbaikars who heaped praises on the Mumbai Police for their selfless service to the city amid the COVID-19 crisis.

One user wrote, "We are proud of you all for the sacrifices you and your families are doing to enforce the lockdown," while another user said that Bombay is safest and coolest city in India. A third user commented, "Bombay over anyplace...anyone...anything. Home ! Another user lauded Mumbai Police for keeping the city safe at all times. The user said, Hands down Mumbai. Over any other city. Be it safety or be it night life, when Mumbai Police is here, why fear!

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With several instances of wildlife venturing into cities being recorded during the lockdown, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) feels that these incidents will help them provide important information in understanding the human-wildlife interface in the country.

Hence, in order to collect the data of such encounters easy and from all across the country, WII has developed a mobile application for android phone users named 'Lockdown Wildlife Tracker.'

The data generated from the app will be shared with the respective state forest department post lockdown so that better conservation strategies can be planned once the lockdown is lifted.

The tracking app

Talking to mid-day Dhananjai Mohan, WII Director said, "In this time of the COVID-19 quarantine, where we humans are locked inside our homes, there are more and more reports of wildlife exploring human-dominated areas or 'rewilding' urban areas. However, these records are stray and just circulated as WhatsApp stories. So a group of WII scientists thought to collect this data in an organised manner to help visualise interesting patterns of wildlife that is unfolding during this period. You can help us in this citizen-science initiative by reporting your sightings from the confines of your homes and be a part of this unique experiment."

"These sightings can be reported real-time as well as at any later period - but only till the quarantine lasts. What's more, is that you can even upload photos of your sightings. This free app makes it convenient to keep track of what you see while making your data openly available for scientific research, education, and conservation," WII senior scientist, Dr Bilal Habib said. The mobile application allows one to record their wildlife sightings anytime and from anywhere along with photographs.

The quick entry tools make recording experience short and simple. The data will have GPS enabled entries of all sightings. Currently, the application is available in English and the Hindi version might come soon.

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Mumbai continued to record a spike in COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, with the health department confirming 26 casualties, including a first victim in the BMC. The 49-year-old official, who was involved in food distribution in Dharavi — one of the worst hit zones in the city, died on Wednesday.

The civic official was part of the Assessment Department and deputed to the G North ward where he was exposed to the infectious disease. "He had been unwell since April 23 and had stopped coming to work. He had gone to a private practitioner in Borivli where he was treated for pneumonia. He died on his way to Kasturba Hospital from Borivli on Wednesday," said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of G North ward.

Dighavkar added that his samples were collected for testing on April 27 and the results came back positive after his demise. He is survived by two sons, and his family members are also being tested, said civic officials.

Across Maharashtra, a total of 597 new infections were reported on Wednesday, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to nearly 10,000, state health department officials said. Of the 597 new cases, 475 were from Mumbai, taking the total count in the city to 6,644.

Total number of deaths due to COVID-19 climbed to 432, with the state recording 32 new fatalities on Wednesday. Besides 26 in Mumbai, one death was confirmed in Panvel, three in Pune and one each in Solapur and Aurangabad. Civic officials said 10 of the 26 deaths took place last week and were confirmed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 cases continued to increase in Dharavi, with 14 new confirmed infections on Wednesday. The total tally in the area now stands at 344. In Mahim, three people, including a 52-year-old male resident of the police colony and a 48-year-old man who lived near the police station, have been found to be COVID-19 positive.

Test reports of 23 high-risk contacts of the four officials from Mantralaya, who had tested positive, have come back negative. At Bombay Hospital, another nurse, 45, has tested positive. An official from the hospital said that the nurse, a resident of Kandivli, was not working in the isolation ward. She has no symptoms of the novel Coronavirus and has been admitted at the hospital, he added.

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The city's battle against the COVID-19 has finally started to show some positive results with the doubling rate of positive cases increasing from 8.3 days to 10 days. According to findings of the Central Committee, the doubling rate of cases was recorded between April 7 and April 17, which indicates that cases might now increase at lesser speed. While the doubling rate period at the national level is 9.5 days, the same in Maharashtra was 8.9 days.

Noting this, the Central Committee has lauded the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC's) preventive measures, said a senior civic official.

Mortality rate decreases
In its findings, the Committee has analysed the number of infected patients and observed that the mortality rate among them in the BMC area was lower compared to that of the state. At the state level, an average of 4.3 patients are dying per 100 infected patients and in the BMC area, an average of 3.9 patients are dying every 100 infected patients. A civic official said that few days ago the average mortality rate of infected cases in the BMC area was 6.3 per cent, which too had reduced.

However, BMC now faces the challenge to cater to areas where earlier the rate of doubling of cases was low but has increased in the last couple of days. Wards like G South, G North and E, which have been reporting a high number of cases, are seeing an increase in the doubling rate period.

Earlier, on an average the cases used to double every 10.6 days in G south but now it has gone up to 17.6 days. But R central ward has seen a reverse trend. Its doubling rate period has gone down to 5.5 days from 16.9 days.

Contact tracing
The first COVID-19 positive case was detected on March 11, and since then the civic body has been tracing contacts of positive patients. Till April 26, as many as 1,29,477 were found through contact tracing, of which 21,053 were high-risk group contacts and 1,647 cases were positive.

The BMC, however, claimed that they were being able to control the number of cases due to the containment zones as people cannot move from one area to another and spread the infection. An analysis of the statistics of medical tests conducted across the country reveals that comparatively most number of the tests had taken place in the BMC jurisdiction. As many as 66,000 tests have been conducted in the city so far, an official said.

Containment efforts
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior civic official said, "The doubling rate period of 10 days is better than the national average of 9.5 and the mortality rate of 3.9 is better than the state as well as national figures. This has been done through containment efforts and aggressive contact tracing and quarantining."

He added, "Today, the battle against Coronavirus is being fought with the active cooperation of the municipal corporation, police, various government departments, private hospitals and many others. We once again appeal to the citizens of Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation to follow the guidelines."

21,053
No. of high-risk group contacts found till April 26

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Even as India is awaiting announcements on the Coronavirus gameplan post lockdown on May 3, there is one Mazagaon couple which is on absolute tenterhooks about the announcement. Mumbai’s Darryl, 75, and Grace Cabral, 69, marooned in Newark city in New Jersey, USA said they "are hoping fervently that we can come back to Mumbai."

The couple flew to Australia and boarded a cruise liner late February from Sydney bound for the South Pacific islands. They were looking forward to their holiday, with no inkling of the ominous Corona cloud looming on their horizon. "We boarded the ship on February 28 and were supposed to end the cruise on March 20," they said.

They were the only two Indian passengers on board. All seemed smooth sailing at first, with the cruise ship making a few scheduled stops, but trouble started brewing as a couple of ports did not allow the ship to dock because of Coronavirus concerns. "We could not see all the places on the itinerary as the ship did not get permission to dock," they said.

Stranded now
A series of events then took place in rapid succession as the schedule went awry with nations reacting with new policies and rules as the pandemic spread. The ship docked at Honolulu after permissions were given and Grace and Darryl were taken by a chartered flight to Newark airport towards March end, along with some other passengers who were planning to reach different destinations. The Cabrals said, "We reached Newark on March 25. We booked tickets to Brussels as flights to India had stopped. We have a daughter in Brussels and we planned to stay with her."

To their shock though, at the boarding counter, they were told that the flight could take only Schengen passport holders. "We had a Schengen visa not a Schengen passport," they explained.

The couple has been in Newark ever since India was locked down. They are in touch with the Indian Consulate in New York. "We have had no flights operating to India. We had our tickets booked on April 17 as the first phase of the lockdown ended. The extension dashed our hopes," they said. Now, they have booked tickets for May 4 through a city travel agent, hoping for the lockdown to be lifted at least to rescue stranded Indians, if nothing else.

Expenses mount
Darryl, a professor of management, and Grace are living in an AirBnB apartment in Newark, with the exchange rate absolutely bleeding them. "Our finances are stretched thin, we are paying at least USD 80 dollars (approximately R6,048) a day only on accommodation. Though we live as carefully as possible, there are food expenses too," said Grace.

"It is fairly easy getting provisions here though since the shops are open. But there is a great amount of discipline when it comes to social distancing. Everybody has a mask on, in fact, shops will not allow you if you do not wear a mask. Within these parameters, we do see people walking their dogs, exercising and a few cars on the roads," she added. Even with all the measures, they have some trepidation though, as Corona cases in the USA are very high, with New York and New Jersey worse hit and the couple’s age means they fall within the vulnerable bracket.

Diabetes medication
This Mumbai duo is struggling to access their diabetic medication, "as Indian prescriptions do not work here," they explained. Under tremendous stress now, the Cabrals just wish "to return home."

They said, "It is the uncertainty that is killing. We can be quarantined on returning, adhere to whatever the rules say, but we want to return. It is becoming quite impossible for us to stay here any longer," they finished, echoing the dire straits so many Indians overseas find themselves in.

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As many as 160 personnel of the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) have been keeping your city clean in an effort to prevent the spread of the deadly novel Coronavirus. Thirty-two teams of the MFB have sanitised more than 3,000 places, including hospitals and containment zones, over the past month.

The MFB teams, following the instructions of the BMC's health department, have disinfected 3,063 spots using 2.47 lakh litres of sodium hypochlorite. They have been disinfecting hospitals and the areas, which have been sealed following a spurt in cases of COVID-19 infections, on alternate days. The fire department said they are using 17 quick response vehicles, nine mist blowing machines and six boom mist machines to sanitise the affected places.

The real challenge is to disinfect the gullies around the houses and narrow pathways in the slum where hardly one person can walk at a time, said an officer from the MFB. "The number of containment zones in the slum has increased, but the fire brigade team is working hard to sanitise all the areas in time, and effectively," the officer added.

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Navi Mumbai witnessed the highest spike in COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with 43 people testing positive. With this, the toll of positive patients in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has become 188. Authorities are worried as almost 50 % of the cases in around nine days were staff who travel from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, or their contacts.

Cases shoot up
With emphasis on awareness and surveillance, NMMC had managed to curtail the infection and limit its spread. Till the end of the fifth week of the nationwide lockdown, NMMC jurisdiction had recorded 108 cases. But in the sixth week the cases have shot up.

"The major cause of concern is the spread in slum pockets such as Turbhe and in the old villages, which will be a challenge for us. Despite taking utmost care, cases are on the rise. We need to tackle them as soon as possible," said an NMMC official.

Essential workers affected
The other cause of concern in NMMC is employees travelling to Mumbai for essential services. Of the 110 cases from April 18 to 27, 52 cases were found to have spread due to persons travelling to Mumbai to work with essential services.

The same was seen in Panvel Municipal Corporation's (PMC) area, where out of 24 cases in the same time frame, 17 cases are of people who travel to Mumbai for work or their family members.

However, so far PMC has managed to keep the infection at comparatively low. Till April 28, the COVID-19 patients' count was 56. Out of these 32 cases are active, while others have been discharged.

188
Total no. of COVID-19 patients in Navi Mumbai

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Mumbai Police shared a heartbreaking and inspiring video of one of the officers who was tested positive for coronavirus,  going away for his treatment, with a promise of winning the battle against the pandemic and joining back on duty soon.

The 15-seconds video was enough to make Twitter users emotional and they heaped praises for the cop for being courageous despite testing positive for the virus. The police department said in the caption while sharing the video, "Our 29 year old frontline warrior, who tested positive for Coronavirus, just summarised what we’ve been meaning to tell you all along."

The video shows the officer bidding adieu to his colleagues and getting into an ambulance that was waiting to take him to the hospital.

Our 29 year old frontline warrior, who tested positive for Coronavirus, just summarised what we’ve been meaning to tell you all along - à¤Â•à¤¾à¤¹à¥Â€ à¤ÂŸà¥Â‡à¤Â‚शन à¤Â˜à¥Â‡à¤ÂŠ नà¤Â•à¥Â‹ रà¥Â‡, मितà¥Âà¤°à¤¾! #AamhiDutyVarAahot #MumbaiPoliceOnDuty #MumbaiFirst#TakingOnCorona pic.twitter.com/tNJWg7Ljsv

— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) April 29, 2020

The post shared on Twitter garnered more than 346,400 views and over 18,200 likes and was retweeted more than 3,600 times. The users commenting on the video said that they are praying for the officer’s speedy recovery.

That's the spirit ..salute to such a brave officer ...best wishes for his recovery

— Harish Raja (@hraja2016) April 29, 2020

I Salute and pray for the speedy recovery of all the Warriors who have been detected positive.
Tujhi kalji ghe Mitra.

— Akshay Raut (@akkir) April 29, 2020

His attitude says a lot about the young cop there... god bless â­Â
Yes tension gheu naka ... He will be back soonðŸ‘ÂÂŒ#PositiveVibes

— Neha (@IamNRGe) April 29, 2020

Get well soon sir love you all because of you we are safe and happy in mumbai..

— Aasif shaikh (@Asifshaikhseo) April 29, 2020

Salute ! Salute ! Salute

— Bharati Chaudhari (@bumekar) April 29, 2020

What do you think about the post?

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At a time the police have lost three staffers to COVID-19, a constable whose courage and enthusiasm for duty despite testing positive for it, as seen in a video that has gone viral; is proving to be a source of encouragement for the force. The 29-year-old constable attached to the Local Arms division of Marol, tested positive on April 21, and later tested negative. He has been admitted to the SevenHills Hospital where his third test will be done.    

Got himself tested

The constable was deployed with 14 police personnel on special duty at Bhagat Singh Nagar, Goregaon west, that comes under the Bangur Nagar police station, during the lockdown. On April 21 when he developed a fever, he got himself tested for COVID-19 but continued to be on duty. On April 24 when he received the report saying he tested positive for COVID-19, he immediately informed Senior Inspector Shobha Pise of Bangur Nagar police station.

Pise assured him of help and informed DCP Mohankumar Dahikar of Zone XI. Dahikar spoke to higher officials due to the non-availability of a bed in Guru Nanak hospital and managed to secure him a bed at SevenHills Hospital.

Encouraging words

The constable's 14 colleagues were put into quarantine and later tested negative. The constable was taken to the hospital in an ambulance by the police and BMC staff. The video shot then shows him encouraging colleagues. "Our senior officers are always with us, they take care of us. We police are the protectors of the public. Don't be afraid if one of us gets hurt while doing such work. Kahi tension gheu naka, me parat yeto dutiver” (Don't worry, I will be back on duty)," he said to colleagues before getting into the ambulance. The video was much appreciated, especially by senior police officers.

"Instead of being afraid of this disease, despite knowing that some of his companions have lost their lives due to it, the constable was full of hope. His courage cheered his comrades," said a police officer from Bangur Nagar police station.

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We will go ahead with patience and caution, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday asserting that the state government will give relaxations in lockdown after May 3 seeing the condition of specific areas.

"We will surely give relaxations after May 3 seeing the condition of specific areas but be cautious and co-operate, else whatever we have achieved in the past few days will be lost. So, we will go ahead with patience and caution," Thackeray said.

"I want people to not panic about COVID-19. It's only about starting the treatment on time. From few days old babies to 83 years old people have recovered and gone home. People on ventilators have also recovered well," he said.

The ongoing lockdown, which was imposed to contain coronavirus is scheduled to end on May 3. Maharashtra as the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country and the state's tally stands at 10,498.

The Chief Minister said that lockdown is working as a "circuit breaker".

"Yes cases are rising but most of the cases are of the contacts. And most are already in quarantine. And fortunately, 75-80 per cent people are asymptomatic of the disease so we are putting them in quarantine," he said.

The Chief Minister also wished the people of the state on the occasion of Maharashtra Foundation Day and Labour Day.

"I remember what my father and grandfather told me about the struggle of getting Mumbai in Maharashtra. I visited Jitata Chowk today and it was a unique experience as I visited it for the first time as the Chief Minister of the state for which martyrs had sacrificed their lives," he said.

"My father, grandfather and uncle were part of that Maharashtra andolan (movement). I remembered everyone who contributed for the formation of this state. I pay my respects to all of them before speaking to you," he said.

"We had decided that this foundation day will be celebrated with great enthusiasm at the time when our government was formed. But we are helpless. Even I had to go there with masks on my face," he added.

"I remember 2010 when we celebrated 50th Anniversary of Maharashtra state. I remember everyone's presence. Especially, I remember Lata tai's performance when she sang a historical song. Many people came and go but Maharashtra is as it was," he added.

"Even Aurangzeb had to accept that Maharashtra will not bow before him, he tried for 27 years. I am Chief Minister of such state and I am proud of it," he said.

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The lockdown seems to have brought out the good side of many. Staffers of the Indian postal department have gone out of their way to ensure that elderly get their pension, senior citizens can withdraw postal savings, the differently-abled get their stipend, and hospitals get their medicals kits. Some have even contributed to ensure food for the poor.

MID-DAY spoke to some of these heroes in Navi Mumbai Postal Region, which has 1,514 post offices in Thane, Palghar, Nashik, Malegaon, Navi Mumbai and Raigad districts.

"My dedicated team is working relentlessly to provide essential services to citizens. They are instructed to follow safety rules like using masks, sanitisers and physical distancing," said Shobha Madhale, postmaster general, Navi Mumbai Region.

Shobha Madhale, postmaster general, Navi Mumbai 

Madhale added, “When we learnt that no public transport was available from March 23, we quickly came up with a plan. Directives were issued to postal officials at district levels, to ensure that adequate cash was made available at post offices, and a postal assistant to visit senior citizens, the differently-abled or pensioners at their homes and hand over cash,” she said.

Also directives were issued to ensure that all postal ATMs had cash daily and that delivery of essential items, medicines, kits and medical instruments were given priority.

Surprised by kindness

Kedare Jayram, 76, pensioner from Nashik

“My father retired as a jamadhar (senior peon) at the Niphad post office, Nashik. Ours is a joint family and it is his monthly pension of R12,000 that is a major source of income for the family even today,” said his elder son Manoj, who works with a gas agency at a monthly salary of R7,500. During the lockdown we were worried about our father going to the post office for his pension. “I was surprised by the kindness of the postal department who sent a postal assistant home with my pension,” said Kedare Jayram.

Kedare Jayram receives his pension from postal assistant Pradip Bhandwalkar

Hero

Pradip Bhandwalkar, 32, postal assistant, Niphad Post Office

“The last day of the month, pensioners usually get their money in their postal savings account. I visited the pensioners’ homes with a withdrawal slip taking all directed precautions. I took their signature on the slip, returned to the post office a few kilometres away and came back with their money. Would he continue this after lockdown? “I would love to. It gives me pleasure and satisfaction,” Bhandwalkar said.

Sushilatai thrilled

Sushila Patil, 90, Rayande Chari, Alibaug

She is blind and is bed-bound most of the time. Her sons live outside Alibaug and her daughter takes care of her. She was happy to get R8,300, which was sent in two money orders from the treasury department.

Mehraj Ausekar with Sushila Patil at her home

Hero

Mehraj Ausekar, 51, a postman at Poynad post office in Alibaug

He said, “I visited Sushila two days ago and saw that she is too weak and old. She gave her thumb impression on the receipt of the money order payment,” said Ausekar. “I will continue to visit Sushila with her money orders. I get satisfaction in doing something for senior citizens,” he added.

Boss hits the ground

Vitthal Hatankar, 96, pensioner, Brahmin Ali, Alibaug

“My father was the postmaster at Alibaug post office and retired in 1984. Since the lockdown I, too, was unable to collect his pension,” said Abhay Hatankar, 55, the son. “We were surprised and happy to see postmaster general, Anuradha Penkar herself coming home to hand over the pension,” said Hatankar senior.

Vitthal Hatankar with the postmaster of Alibaug post office

Hero

Anuradha Penkar, 60, is due to retire in October

“We have around 68 senior citizens staying in and around Alibaug. We went to all their houses and gave them their pensions,” said Anuradha. “I also visited two of them staying 10 km away in Awas. They were all surprised and pleased,” she said.

Grateful to donors

Kesav Satpute, 32, pharmacy officer, Tembha Hospital, Bhayandar West

“I was on duty on April 17, when the staff of Bhayander post office visited the hospital with five cartons from Dr Pratik Jain of Delhi, who has donated 100 PPE kits for our staff,” Kesav said, adding, “We have about 100 COVID patients and apart from regular supply of PPE kits and medicines from Mira-Bhayander municipality, we are grateful to donors like Dr Jain for these PPE kits. Due to the lockdown the postal team themselves had got the parcel in their tempo and we were touched by their wonderful gesture.”

Staff from Bhayandar post office with the PPE kits that they delivered to Tembha hospital

Hero

Subhas Churi, 60, postal department staffer

“I usually do sorting and packing work at the Bhayander post office, but due to the lockdown I decided to deliver parcels received from Mumbai airport cargo at the earliest,” said Churi. When asked if he knew he was entering a COVID dedicated hospital, Churi said, “I am told that those who fear COVID are prone to get infected, and therefore I keep my fear at bay. I know I am serving those who are treating the most vulnerable patients.”

The numbers

Collection and delivery of payments by Navi Mumbai Region (1,514 posts offices) from March 23 to April 30

• No. articles booked – 4,572
• No. of articles delivered – 16,333
• Savings Bank Payments – 1,18,893, Withdrawals – Rs 228.75 crore
• Money Orders Paid: 2,064 Amount: Rs 42,67,913
• Aadhar enabled payment system (AePS) – No. of transactions: 22,116 Amount paid – Rs 5,13,29,520/-
• Personal contribution by postal staff in Navi Mumbai region: Rs 2,16,000

Info, courtesy: PMG, Navi Mumbai region

Postal staff cooks for needy

Nearly 1,180 packets were distributed by Palghar postal division to migrants and daily wagers and their children on April 4 and April 20, at Pelhar village, Vasai, Mahim Manor highway and other places in Palghar. The money came from contribution by staffers.

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Nine police constables of Wadala police station have been found to be tested positive for Coronavirus. These police constables were deployed at checkpoints in the area and have been delivering food to the poor in the slums for the past one and half months.

As much as seven areas in Wadala fall in the red zone which is home for a large number of migrant labourers. Thus, the Wadala police were providing food to the migrant laborers and the poor in there. Keeping this in mind, 29 policemen tested for Coronavirus on Monday, out of which nine police constables were found to be positive and were admitted to the hospital for treatment.

According to the information received from the police, none of the nine policemen showed any symptoms. As of Wednesday, a total of 98 policemen have been found to be infected with the virus.

A senior Mumbai Police officer told mid-day, "We are taking care of the health of every policeman. Our team is also going to the red zone, so as a precaution, we had tested the policemen on duty there."

"With nine policemen being tested positive, the entire Wadala police station has been sanitised. We are taking care of the policemen as well as their families,"  he added.

Port Zone DCP Rashmi Karandikar told mid-day, "All the policemen tested positive have been admitted to Guru Nanak Hospital and are undergoing treatment."

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A PIL has been filed in Bombay High Court asking the government to make a strategy for exiting the lockdown. It further asks the government to make plans for the protection of health care workers, police officials, and others providing essential services. The PIL also demands the deployment of the army in sensitive areas.

The petitioner Dr Syed Ejaz Abbas Naqvi said, "There is growing negativity in the minds of the citizens of Maharashtra amidst the current lockdown and the possibility of its extension. Some violators are roaming freely hence, the intervention of the army and para-military is required."

The advocate of the petitioner Vishal Satyaprakash Saxena said that the PIL is filed asking the government of Maharashtra to formulate and disclose the strategy to exit the lockdown and to formulate guidelines for the well-being of the citizens of Maharashtra. The court will hear the manner on May 13.

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A 55-year-old man who was one of the 101 people arrested in connection with the Palghar mob-lynching incident has been tested positive for COVID-19. Sources said that 43 others involved in the case would have to be tested for the virus.

It is to be noted that all the 101 people who were arrested on April 17, were produced before a court on Thursday to seek their custody in another case regarding the lynching of three men including Chikne Maharaj, Sushil Giri and their cab driver Nilesh Tilghate in Palghar.

Sources have told mid-day that the person was tested negative on April 28 but 'he developed symptoms of coronavirus and was tested again'.

"The 55-year-old man was kept in lock-up with 20 others arrested in the case at Wada police station. The samples of all accused and police officials are being collected. They will be quarantined," said a senior police officer at Palghar, adding that the officers who have interrogated the person will also be quarantined.

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Apart from plasma therapy, COVID-19 patients who are in critical condition, will soon have another kind of treatment, to help fight the infection. Mumbai-based Haffkine Institute, which last month had submitted a proposal to conduct a clinical trial to use the anti-tuberculosis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, as a therapeutic treatment received a nod for it from the Drug Controller General of India on Friday.

Around 30 COVID-19 patients, who have moderate or severe symptoms, will be part of the trial run, starting next week. "The BCG vaccine strengthens immunity and research has shown that it can be used as a therapeutic treatment, to help patients fight the infection. We received an approval from the DGCI and are waiting for the clinical registration number from the ICMR, which should come in a couple of days," said a senior official from the Medical Education and Drugs (MED) department.

While the trial will be carried out by the Haffkine Institute and led by Dr Usha Padmanabhan, it is being monitored by the MED department.

Mumbai has the highest number of Coronavirus-related deaths in the state, as well as in India. The official added that once the trials are successful, patients who are critical, especially in cities like Mumbai and Pune, will be able to benefit from it. "Unlike new drugs, the BCG vaccine is already in production and will be easily available. So far, the institute has carried out preliminary studies and they have come across positive results," the official said.

Dr Rajesh Deshmukh, managing director of the Haffkine Institute in Parel, said that they are likely to start the trial next week. "It will take place at the BJ Medical College in Pune. We have carried out the preparations and the scientists are almost ready," he said.

Based on the preliminary findings of the research for the trial, the effect of the virus can be reduced among patients, if they are given a dose of the BCG vaccine. The official said that the vaccine will help reduce the severity of the symptoms among patients.

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A 55-year-old man, who was arrested in the Palghar mob lynching case, has tested positive. Highly placed sources in Palghar police told mid-day that four days ago the same accused was tested negative for the virus. The accused was kept in a lockup at Wada police station with 21 other prisoners, who have been quarantined at a hotel. The hotel is being guarded by Palghar police now.

The accused is one among the 110 people who were arrested on April 17 by Palghar police in connection with the mob lynching of three men including two priests Chikne Maharaj (75), Sushil Giri (35) and their cab driver Nilesh Tilghate (30). "His fresh swab sample tested positive and the report was handed over to Palghar police on Friday. All the senior police officers swung into action as the news of him testing positive reached them," said a police officer.

"Since we don't have a district hospital here, we shifted him to Palghar Gramin hospital which is a COVID-19 hospital now," said a health officer at Palghar district.
Besides 21 prisoners, there are 25 others who came in contact with him, and they have been identified. These officers had served them food inside the lock-up, two others are doctors from Wada Gramin hospital. In all, 46 people who came in his contact have been traced and their swabs have been collected and sent for testing. All these 46 people have been quarantined at a hotel in Wada," said the health officer.

As per protocol, all the police personnel at Wada police station were relocated and the entire premises, police vehicles, etc., are being disinfected for two consecutive days.

Sub Divisional Officer, Wada, Archana Kadam, said, "The cops have shared details of those who came in his contact after April 17. We have identified a few, and they are being tested."

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A day after the number of deaths dropped, Mumbai's death toll rose to 27 deaths on Saturday, the highest number recorded in a single day. The city's count of new cases was also high, as slum areas like Dharavi recorded 89 new cases in a single day.

Maharashtra reported 36 deaths on Saturday and 27 of them occurred in Mumbai, three in Pune, three in Amravati and one each in Vasai-Virar and Aurangabad. State health officials said that in addition to the 27 COVID-19 related deaths in Mumbai, a resident of West Bengal also died in the city. Civic officials said that 20 of those patients were suffering from other ailments including hypertension and diabetes and 15 of the patients were in the age group of 40-59 years.

Civic officials stated that 89 new cases were reported in Dharavi on Saturday and 38 new cases on Friday which took the total count of cases in the area up to 496. Among other areas, Kumbharwada continued to be a hot spot with 16 new cases in two days while Kunchikurve Nagar had 10 new cases. Apart from Dharavi, 17 new cases were reported in Mahim over the past two days which included two patients from the fisherman colony, and 13 new cases in Dadar.

Civic officials of G South ward, which had the highest number of cases, reported that 30 new cases were confirmed on Saturday. "The situation is better at the Worli Koliwada and Jijamata Nagar. However, there are a number of cases emerging from the BDD chawl and Prem Nagar," said Sharad Ughade, assistant municipal commissioner of G South ward. When asked if the restrictions at Worli Koliwada that has been sealed for several weeks will be relaxed, Ughade added that they will take a decision next week.

Two engineers in the maintenance department of Nair Hospital also tested positive. Dr Mohan Joshi, who is in-charge of Nair Hospital, confirmed the news and said, "These engineers did not come in contact with any COVID patients, they caught the infection from the areas where they live."

State health officials said that Maharashtra reported 790 new cases and of them, 547 of them were from Mumbai, and the city now has 8,359 cases. In areas across the state, 121 patients were discharged after a full recovery. Till date, Maharashtra has had 12,296 confirmed cases and 521 deaths.

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The Maharashtra government issued fresh orders on Saturday evening, disallowing revised lockdown guidelines in the COVID-19 containment zones across the state. Though the order didn't specify which activities would be allowed outside containment zones in big cities like Mumbai and Thane, the officials interpreted that no relaxation as suggested by the ministry of home affairs on Friday, would apply to the twin cities.

The order put to rest speculations that Mumbai and Thane would get some relief, for instance, running private offices on 33 per cent staff strength in the extended period of lockdown, which begins from Monday.

Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta said in the order that the activities allowed in green and orange zones, would be suspended if any area gets notified as a containment zone.

In a separate communication, the state government also issued some clarifications through its media department. It said the people in Mumbai and Pune metropolitan regions (MMR and PMR) would not be allowed to travel within Maharashtra and between states. People from other districts and states will also be barred from entering the two regions.

However, the stranded migrant labourers from MMR and PMR will be allowed to travel after seeking due permission and submitting a medical fitness certificate.

In Mumbai, local police stations are accepting requests from the labourers, said the government, but added that the final call would be taken after assessing the pandemic situation in the city areas where the workers have been staying.

The government advised the workers to not rely on rumours and instead reach out to local police stations for authentic information.

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The Mumbai Police’s social media pages are gaining popularly among netizens for their epic memes during the lockdown imposed due to Coronavirus outbreak. After taking inspiration from Bollywood and popular series streaming online for some of their recent memes, the police department has now turned to Potterverse for some meme-spiration to explain their followers why it is important to stay at home.

In the Mumbai Police’s recent post on their Instagram account, they have shared what Hermoine Granger would say in her sassy way to explain the necessity to stay at home. The caption for the post read, “You already know Hermione's reaction if you step out unnecessarily during the lockdown,” while asking the ‘magical folks of Mumbai’ to stay at home. The message displayed in the clip will make you think twice step out of the house

 

 

 

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You already know Hermione's reaction if you step out unnecessarily during the lockdown. Just #StayHome magical folks of Mumbai to win 'The Battle' against corona #BattleOfMumbaikars

A post shared by Mumbai Police (@mumbaipolice) onMay 1, 2020 at 10:26pm PDT

The clip shared on Saturday managed to garner 61,407  likes with many Potterheads relating to the post and calling the Mumbai police’s social media page the ‘coolest’. A user said, “Mumbai's Auror Department got no muggles.” Another user said, “Wish we could just expeliamus the virus. One more user said, “Harry Potter post on the day of Battle of Hogwarts?! You guys won my heart!”

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Coronavirus has brought everyone down to their knees, especially those who are suffering with ailments such as diabetes.

COVID-19 had mad eits way in the BEST department but the discharge of three conducters proved to be a silver lining, especially for the one who had diabetes.

The conductor was discharged from the hospital on Saturday morning, according to a report in The Times of India.

The conductor was admitted to the hospital on April 18 and even though his condition was deteriorating, he battled against all odds and recovered withing 2 weeks.

BEST cheif medical officer, Dr Anil Kumar Singhal said, "We are happy about our Corona survivor who was discharged with a negative report and sound health, and expect more recoveries in coming days."

Six more BEST staff detected positive for Coronavirus on Saturday, taking the total number from 29 to 35.

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Mumbaikars looked up in the sky with amazement as the Tri-Services accorded a grand aerial salute with showers of flowers and petals acknowledging the work of the frontline warriors in the war against the virus here on Sunday morning.

Helicopters and fighter planes flew over the empty but picturesque Marine Drive and other parts of Mumbai as the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force came out to pay tributes to the doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police and others involved in the fight against COVID-19.

Helicopters flew around certain key hospitals treating Covid-19 patients like the INS ASHVINI, Sir J. J. Hospital, KEM hospital and the Kasturba Hospital.

The Sukhoi-30 aircraft flew in a march-past from the Raj Bhavan to Marine Driver while MI-17 and Chetak choppers showered flowers on the hospitals situated in congested localities of South Mumbai, mesmerising the citizens cooped up in their homes.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Eight lakh people live in over 1,600 areas declared as Containment Zones (CZ) due to a high number of COVID-19 cases, but those living in nearly 60 per cent of them are at higher risk of contracting the respiratory disease as these are congested areas. The worst affected is the L ward, comprising Kurla and Chembur, with the most crammed CZs.

AS of Sunday, the civic body has sealed 1,606 areas, declared as Containment Zones. According to a BMC data, 944 of them have mostly chawls and slums, and with crammed houses and public toilets, there is a high risk of transmission of the novel Coronavirus in these places.

BMC says civic staffers visiting congested containment areas are also at risk. File pic

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's main challenge now is to keep minimum contact points in these areas. With the constant spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases, the BMC has started sealing small areas consisting of around 80-100 houses instead of locking down an entire slum pocket.

"Public toilets are the biggest risk. It is cleaned as many times as possible to avoid the spread of infection. Besides, people try to sneak out of their rooms as their houses are small. Also, there are many small and complex internal pathways, but we try to close all the gateways and separate the Containment Zones so the virus doesn't spread outside," said an assistant commissioner from the Western Suburbs. At 184, L ward, comprising Kurla and Chembur, has maximum number of CZs and nearly 85 per cent of them (157) are in congested areas. The K West ward, from Jogeshwari West to Vile Parle West, also has a number of congested CZs.

Out of 173 CZs, 117 are crammed. Bandra to Santacruz East, i.e. the H East ward, has also been struggling with a high number of sealed slum pockets. However, city's densest ward, Byculla East, has least number of Containment Zones in slums and chawls. Dharavi, despite reporting a maximum number of COVID-19 cases, has fewer CZs because the sealed areas have a large number of houses.

"We planned and executed five levels of measures. High-risk contacts are shifted to institutional quarantine. A common area, like public toilets, is cleaned two to three times a day. A team of doctor checks everyone in the area. There are fever clinics. We focus on senior citizens by checking the oxygen level of their blood and acting appropriately," said Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner.

BMC staff, including doctors, nurses, health and sanitation workers, visiting these areas are also at risk of contracting the virus. As a precaution, the BMC has suggested that they take hydroxychloroquine tablets under supervision to avoid side effects.

7,795 high-risk contacts at Corona Care Centres

As of Sunday, as many as 1,778 COVID-19 patients have been shifted from hospital to Corona Care Centre-2. "Many of them have been discharge from CCC2 as well and they are advised to remain under home quarantine. But the figure is still not available," said a senior officer form the BMC. There are 7,795 high-risk contacts in Corona Care Centres. While the BMC also keeps asymptomatic people at the centres rather than in hospitals, there isn't any data available on the number of these patients.

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With the death of one more employee this weekend, the toll of BEST employees succumbing to COVID-19 is two, while four have recovered and have been discharged.

Sources said that an employee from the transport engineering department of Backbay bus depot died at KEM Hospital.

"The employee had reported to work and has been listed on duty until April 21, after which he fell ill. This clearly shows he laid his life working for the BEST Undertaking. His next of kin should be offered a job in the BEST and his family should be given an amount of R1 crore out of medical insurance," Shashank Sharad Rao, general secretary of the BEST Workers' Union said.

A BEST spokesperson confirmed the development and said the employee was suffering from high blood pressure and had been absent from work since April 22. He tested positive for Coronavirus on May 1 and died on May 3.

The first employee BEST lost to Coronavirus was a foreman working for the electric supply branch. He tested positive for Coronavirus on April 2. Since March 16, he had been admitted to a private hospital and had kidney-related ailments. He resumed work at Wadala depot on March 20 after and worked till March 22, after which he died.

On the other hand, there have been success stories too. A BEST spokesperson said a BEST bus conductor, who was diabetic, was admitted with COVID-19 since April 18. He recovered and was recently discharged. Another employee residing at the Parel staff quarters has also recovered. In addition, BEST has seen no positive cases since May 1.

BEST in numbers

. 30: No. of employees recuperating from COVID-19
. 8,865: No. of employees tested
. 1,500: No. of high-risk employees told to stay home
. 400: No. of employees recommended home-quarantine as a precaution

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Over the past six days, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has recorded a total of 124 COVID-19 deaths, almost double of the toll recorded between April 22 and April 27 (59), making it one of the major causes of concern for the city. With four BMC workers succumbing to the viral infection in the last two days, 21 deaths were reported just on Sunday.

Of the 124 deaths, 60 are in the age group of 40 to 60 years, three are aged below 40, and the remaining 61 are above 60 years of age. As per the civic body's data, 2,144 new cases and 59 deaths were reported between April 22 and April 27. Another 3,024 cases got added between April 28 and May 3. Meanwhile, 441 new cases were reported on Sunday taking the city's tally to 8,613.

Sources in the BMC said that they had formed a four-tier system to deal with the COVID-19 cases. Around 2,000 asymptomatic patients have been shifted from hospitals to COVID-19 quarantine centres across the city so that the health workers can focus on the treatment of serious patients.

Meanwhile, the number of patients in Dharavi is also increasing by the day. On Sunday, 94 new cases and two deaths were reported in the area. So far, the total number of patients in the largest slum of the city has reached 590 with 20 deaths. Mahim has reported 16 new cases with the total being 68 in the area.

Four BMC workers die
A total of four BMC workers, including a BEST staff, involved in fieldwork related to COVID-19 have died over the past two days.

A 46-year-old staff was working in the labour ward of civic-run Shatabdi Hospital in Govandi, where a pregnant woman had tested positive for the virus. The worker was a high-risk contact and had tested positive for the virus too, after which he was admitted to Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar. However, he succumbed to the infection on Saturday.

One motor loader, 49, working with the solid waste management department in BMC died due to the viral infection on Saturday. Another worker of N ward and deputed at the MCMCR training unit in Powai for COVID-19 related work died the same day.

Speaking to mid-day, Ramakant Bane, general secretary of the municipal union, said, "The workers are worried about their and their family members' health. With the growing number of COVID-19 cases, the BMC should test their workers on priority."

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Call it red-tape or over-sensitivity about allowing non-essential shops to remain open in Mumbai amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but government agencies, especially the BMC, were apprehensive through most of Monday about allowing liquor shops to resume business even as thousands lined up for their favourite tipple since early morning.

The state government issued orders on Sunday that standalone retail liquor shops could do business in red, orange and green zones excluding containment areas between 10 am and 6 pm from Monday.

Following the state order, the State Excise Department's Mumbai city and suburban superintendents and district collectors came up with joint notifications a few hours before the 6 pm deadline and a little after 3.30 pm, some liquor shops opened, with some of them allowing only one bottle per customer.

A man with his liquor stock in Sion on Monday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

However, the BMC hadn't made any announcement till 5 pm. Some of its assistance commissioners tweeted early morning that non-essentials shops (including liquor shops) should not be opened without the BMC nod.

Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi did not respond to text messages. When told about the chaos, Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta assured to look into the matter. A senior BMC official said in the two video-conferences that Pardeshi held with state government bureaucrats, liquor shops were not discussed.

Meantime, Principal Secretary Bhushan Gagrani, in-charge of media relations for state government's COVID-19 mitigation, said in a press conference online that local authorities like municipal commissioners and district collectors are authorised to overrule the state's common guidelines under the powers vested in them by the Epidemic Diseases Act. But he said local authorities were told to issue separate orders elucidating the reasons behind stalling the state guideline. Nagpur and Aurangabad Collectors have specifically told state bosses that they won't allow liquor shops to reopen. Whereas, other collectors, who thought of allowing the measure, were prompt in circulating orders to retailers and other stakeholders.

A senior excise department official told mid-day that Greater Mumbai's case was different. "Here at least four agencies are involved in decision-making. We followed the state's orders and issued our own notifications that would also go to licensed retailers. BMC and city police are the other two agencies which have been working jointly in COVID-19 mitigation and they know the fight and its nuances for taking any further decisions," the officer said.

By late afternoon, some Excise Department officials had reached BMC headquarters to hand over the department's order and also seek information on containment areas. "It's a tricky situation that needs to be tackled in a foolproof process. Such decisions don't happen very quickly. The other side is that the shop operators might have their own difficulties like deputing healthy staff (50 per cent of the total strength) on counters. Shops might not have inventory and require new stock from wholesalers," he said, adding the business was likely to resume smoothly in a day or two, provided that the BMC gives a green signal.

6PM
Time by which liquor shops must shut

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been readying quarantine centres and acquiring hospitals for COVID-19 patients, but it seems it hasn't quite decided whom to let in. The 32-year-old wife of a COVID-19 positive patient from Dharavi has been running from pillar to post to get him to a hospital. The 35-year-old who requires dialysis, tested positive on May 1 but BMC officials allegedly advised her to quarantine him at home, as he is asymptomatic.

When she pointed out that they stay in a 180 sq ft house with senior citizen parents, they allegedly did not pay much heed. While the BMC maintains that asymptomatic patients are not hospitalised, the patient has become a potential threat not just to his family but to the whole SRA building with 91 flats, where they stay.

Neighbours and relatives of a COVID-19 positive person admitted to Sion Hospital being stamped. Pic/Suresh Karkera

"I repeatedly called the COVID-19 Helpline. They asked my husband's age and his other illnesses. But when they came to know he is asymptomatic, they told me to quarantine him at home. I told them we live in a 180 sq feet home with senior citizen parents, but they didn't pay attention," said the wife of the patient.

The patient needs to get dialysis done every three days from last year. "I don't know why they are doing this. Last week a patient was found in our building, and he also required dialysis. They took him to a hospital, but are refusing to take me. I am worried about my father and mother, who are senior citizens. In a house like this, how can we maintain physical distance?" the patient said.

"Home quarantine is not possible for him. The authorities should look into this matter and provide assistance. The family is also financially weak. The father of the patient, a former Indian Navy personnel, runs the house. Now they have approached the Mumbai police for help," said a family friend of the patient.

"Asymptomatic COVID-19 positive patients are not required to be admitted in a hospital. I don't have the details of this patient, but I will ask officials to inquire and we can also arrange for dialysis for him at JJ Hospital," said Assistant Municipal Commissioner G/North Ward Kiran Dighavkar. A BMC official said if the patient's conditions worsens, he will be admitted.

180
The area (in sq feet) of the house the man stays in with his wife and aged parents

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Eight residents of Panchsheel chawl in Govandi — who were classified as high-risk patients after they came in contact with a deceased 55-year-old woman, whose death was posthumously ruled as due to COVID-19 tested positive on Sunday evening.

These high-risk patients had been kept at a quarantine facility in Mahul over the weekend and after their results came, they were shifted to an isloation centre in Shivaji Nagar. "The reports came in yesterday (Sunday) at 6 pm while we were still in Mahul," one of the eight people who have tested positive said.

"All of us were classified as high-risk patients. We will have to stay here for the next 14 days. This place is much better than the quarantine facility in Mahul. There we would only get vada pav to eat and the place had water issues. The doctors here asked us what our symptoms, but not many of us have a fever. We have been allotted rooms here and two people can stay in one room," the patient added.

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Mulund's T ward saw the biggest spike in COVID-19 positive cases since March 2020 on Monday. There were 52 cases reported in 24 hours taking the number to 123. The number of containment zones has reached 33.

But, a major cause for concern is that the cases reported are from the slum pockets of Mulund West.

Mulund had comparatively kept the infection down till date.

There were 71 patients reported in Mulund till date, of which 52 are under treatment. There were 28 containment zones declared till now, of which 18 are active.

Authorities are on alert as Indira Nagar (19 cases), Ramgadh (15 cases) have slums. Rigorous testing and screening camps have been held in these areas.

"We had conducted camps to trace more patients, we have now received positive reports of 52 people in one day," said Assistant Municipal Commissioner (T ward) Kishor Gandhi.

According to T ward data, Amar Nagar found three new cases, Indira Nagar, 31 more cases and Ramgadh, 8 new cases in the last 24 hours. "The rising number in slum pockets is definitely worrisome, as they have narrow lanes and common toilets," said a health official on condition anonymity.

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Days after nine constables from the Wadala police station tested positive for COVID-19, another 12 policemen of the JJ Marg Police Station have been found to be infected of the virus. As many as 48 cops, who came in contact with these 12 policemen, have been quarantined. Even a DCP of Mumbai Police has also been found tested positive for the pandemic.

The 12 infected cops include six police officers and six constables. According to the information received from the police, the infected policemen were deployed at checkpoints in the area within their jurisdiction. They have been admitted for treatment in hospitals near their homes. The treatment of these policemen is also being monitored by senior officers.

According to information from sources, the DCP who was tested positive for COVID-19 did not show any symptoms of the virus. He is currently undergoing treatment. The area the DCP is in charge of has containment zones that have been declared as red zones.

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With the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak prompting governments to impose lockdowns in different parts of the world, officials have been coming up with creative ways to spread awareness and make people stay at home. From cops dressed as Yamraj, the god of death, to some cops wearing helmets with spikes that resemble that of the virus, the internet has seen it all.

Now, a lawyer dressed as the omen of death, ‘Grim Reaper’ has taken it upon himself to make sure people of Florida maintain social distance. Daniel Uhlfelder has been dressing up as the Grim Reaper and taking strolls of the Florida beach, that has been opened to public to ensure people maintain the advised distance from each other, that has also make netizens sit up and take notice of him.

Wearing a black ragged robe, a mask and carrying a long-handled scythe, Uhlfelder has posted photos of himself advising people not only to maintain social distance but also stay at home till the situation improves.

Stay home Florida pic.twitter.com/MV4fyAXvwu

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 1, 2020

Busy day pic.twitter.com/uBmjaHmp2r

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 1, 2020

Uhlfelder also announced on his Twitter account that he will be touring the beaches of Florida from May 1 to spread awareness about importance of social distancing, wearing the garb of the Grim Reaper. He has also sharing his experiences, especially his frequent run-ins with the police, while on tour.

Someone called the cops on my Grim Reaper tour pic.twitter.com/wTP1pPymm2

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 4, 2020

His pictures donning the scary garb has garnered more than 13,000 likes on Twitter. The Twitterati has been showering him with praises and support in the comments.

pic.twitter.com/YFkuhCqVZI

— Adrian Steel🕵🏻ðŸÂŒ (@montana_steel) May 3, 2020

My family and I fully support you while we continue staying at home.

— Kenneth Sikora (@KennethSikora) May 1, 2020

pic.twitter.com/5gzfQDYJEP

— Laura Apollo (@lauraapollo) May 1, 2020

What do you think about the posts?

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With the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the city, the total number of containment zones have crossed the 2,000 mark. Of these, 1,235 are in congested areas.

The Central and the state governments have ordered restarting some activities in the red zones across the country. As on May 4, the number of sealed areas in the city reached 2,083. Sixty per cent of the Containment Zones (CZ) are in congested areas like chawls and slum. Around 600 containment zones are in densely populated areas and require 24-hour police surveillance.

"While the exact number of people living in these containment areas cannot be calculated, around 400 to 500 people live in every CZ," said a senior civic officer, adding that CZs restrict the spread of COVID.

Till April 23, the number of CZs were 983 with 231 zones released after 14 days. The number of CZs increased two-fold in the past 11 days.

Shifting to CCCs
The BMC has now begun to shift mild-symptomatic and asymptomatic patients to Corona Care Centres II (CCC). The civic body has started these centres across the city with a total capacity of 17,651 beds. As of now, 1778 positive patients are taking treatment in these centres. The NSCI club in Worli with a capacity of 500 people, has 279 positive persons. Byculla which comes under the E-ward has 210 positive persons in CCC II. F-North (Wadala) has 210, G-North (Dharavi, Dadar) has 207, H-East (Bandra) has 124, K-West (Jogeshwari, Andheri West) has 194 and L-Ward (Kurla, Chembur) has 118 patients in the facility.

In institutional quarantine, the civic body managed to increase the capacity of CCCI to 20,462 beds. There are 7,771 high-risk contacts of positive patients staying in these centres.

There are around 10 lakh people living in containment zones in the city right now.

10 lakh
No. of people in containment zones in the city

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The number of COVID-19 cases has witnessed a sharp rise in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) area. On Tuesday, the corporation area recorded 47 cases – the biggest single-day spike in numbers so far.

Of the 47 new cases found on Tuesday, 22 patients are either essential workers or belong to a family of one. What is more worrisome is that a total of 207 new cases have been discovered in the last seven days, taking the total toll to 395 in NMMC along with seven deaths.

Navi Mumbai municipal officials said the two major contributors responsible for the explosion of Coronavirus cases are — firstly the employees working in essential services who travel to Mumbai daily and secondly, the APMC vendors and merchants.

"There are some APMC vendors and merchants who reside in Mumbai. We had asked them to arrange accommodation in Navi Mumbai so they don't contract the virus. However, despite our several announcements, they haven't followed our orders. So, if this trend continues we will take stern actions against them," an NMMC official said.
Moreover, the doubling rate of the cases in Navi Mumbai has drastically come down from 11 days to six days.

To curb the infection, NMMC has already set a time limit for buying vegetables and groceries of 9 am to 5 pm. Also, considering the rising numbers, NMMC has refused permission to open liquor shops under its jurisdiction.

47
No. of new cases recorded in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday

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Maharashtra BJP leader and former CM of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, on Wednesday paid a visit to Saint George, GT and Nair Hospitals where he met frontline workers including hospital deans, superintendents, doctors, nurses, and policemen who have been leading India's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis interacts with doctors and medical staff of Saint George Hospital, GT Hospital and Nair Hospital in Mumbai

Via. @dharmendrajore @Dev_Fadnavis @BJP4India @BJP4Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/rvdvNrLJNw

— Mid Day (@mid_day) May 6, 2020

The 49-year-old BJP leader not only interacted with the frontline workers but also complemented them for their exemplary service for the nation during coronavirus epidemic.

Devendra Fadnavis interacts with hospital staff while maintaining social distance

At Saint George Hospital, situated in Fort, Devendra Fadnavis met superintendent Dr. Khobragade, Dr. Gaiakwad, while at GT hospital he spoke to Dr. Shingare and Dr. Deshpande and at Nair hospital he interacted with Dean Dr Joshi.

The former chief minister visited the Mumbai hospitals to thank the medical workers for leading by example in the fight against COVID-19@Dev_Fadnavis @BJP4India @BJP4Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/ZzcIvElMCU

— Mid Day (@mid_day) May 6, 2020

While visiting these hospitals and interacting with the doctors, Fadnavis not only thanked the corona warriors but also reviewed the coronavirus situation in the state and especially in Mumbai.

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The city's record for the highest number of COVID-19 cases reported in a single day increased to 769 on Wednesday as the total count reached 12,716. Bracing for more cases in the coming days, the civic body is planning to set up additional COVID-19 care centres in various open spaces across the city.

Civic officials said that the new COVID-19 centres will come up at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Nehru Science Centre, MMRDA grounds in BKC, Mahim Nature Park and NESCO ground in Goregaon. Once the work is complete, civic officials said that the current capacity of 14,000 beds will increase to 34,000 beds. For critical patients, the capacity will be increased from 3,000 beds to 4,750 beds in hospitals like Nair, KEM and SevenHills. Additionally, ICU beds will be set up at the centre in NSCI.

The G South ward (comprising Worli) with 903 cases and G North (comprising Dharavi) with 888 cases, continued to have the highest concentration of positive cases. While three deaths were reported from the G South ward, one was reported from Dharavi where a 64-year-old male resident of Naik Nagar died on Wednesday. Civic officials from G North ward said that 68 new cases were reported in Dharavi, eight in Dadar and 11 in Mahim. Civic officials in G South ward said 25 new cases were reported on Wednesday.

State health officials reported 1,233 new cases in Maharashtra and the total count of COVID-19 cases now stands at 16,758. There were 34 COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday of which 26 were in Mumbai which included one patient who was a resident of Uttar Pradesh, three in Pune, three in Akola and one each in Jalgaon and Solapur.

While 18 of the deaths involved patients who were senior citizens, 13 of them fell in the age group of 40-59 years and 27 of the patients were suffering from other ailments. Till date, Maharashtra has had 651 deaths due to COVID-19 and till date, 3,094 COVID patients have been discharged after a full recovery. Currently, more than 2 lakh people are under home quarantine while 13,107 people are kept at quarantine facilities.

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Thousands of migrants working in the power looms at Bhiwandi set out on foot for their villages hundreds of kilometres away earlier this week. While these migrants face an enormously difficult journey with almost zero resources, those who have stayed back are also on the brink of starvation.

The Maharashtra government has been assuring of help for migrant workers should they stay back amid the COVID-19-caused lockdown. Though the Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) is offering food packets, the power loom workers say the quality of the food is inferior.

"The municipality has been giving khichdi for 15 days and the ingredients are rice and turmeric powder. Sometimes they mix vegetables in it. But the food quality is absolutely inferior, it cannot be eaten by any human being. Being a labourer does not mean that we will eat toxic food. The food smells and makes us nauseous," said Manzar Alam, a native of Bihar.

"It is the month of Ramzan and most of us are fasting. But after eating bad quality food, some of us vomited and had to break the fast," said Alam, adding that power loom owners are not helping either and that many are breaking their fast only with water.

"The power loom owner does not respond to our calls. He either switches off his mobile phone or blocks our number," said Mohammad Sahid, a native of Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh.

Raw ration only for state residents
Another power loom worker, Jalaluddin Ansari said workers get food once a day. "We have not been given raw ration by the state government. In this crisis, we have to wait in long queues for langar distributed by social workers," said Ansari.

There are seven lakh registered power looms in Bhiwandi

"There was a queue of nearly 200 workers on Monday. By the time my turn came, food was over. So, I rushed to another langar half-a-kilometre away and stood in another queue. But here too, the food finished," said Ansari, who did not eat anything on Monday.

"On Tuesday, I got food but it was not very little. This is the reality of many workers who did not dare to walk home. The state government is providing raw ration to only those who are from Maharashtra. We are not given any ration," said Ansari, whose co-workers Abdul Ali and Mohammad Younus echoed his views.

Workers say they are being given khichdi - the ingredients of which are usually rice and turmeric — in the food packet for the past 15 days

A few workers from Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh tried to go home in a truck recently. "A truck driver agreed to transport us to our native place. He took R2,500 from each worker. We started our journey a few days ago, but police at Karjat stopped the vehicle and caned the driver badly. We were forced to return to hell with no food," said Ali.

Nearly 3,000 workers rushed to the State Transport bus depot in Bhiwandi on Tuesday. mid-day spoke to a few of them and asked if they had any idea about when they would return to Bhiwandi to resume work: "Humlogo ke paas aur kya hai kamane ke liye?" said Yashpal, a native of Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.

"It is a pandemic and the whole world is reeling under a financial crisis. We don't know what will happen to us as I have heard that big companies are downsising. We are not sure if the owners of power looms will downsize too," said Sahil.

A ray of light
There is confusion among workers regarding how and where they can get registered to travel home in trains. However, a power loom owner Parvez Alam Ansari has been helping his employees.

"I have told my workers not to panic. I have been providing them with ration, vegetables, etc. and they have been preparing meals for themselves. The power loom is shut but these workers are our assets. I cannot afford to keep them stranded amid a crisis," Ansari said.

Civic body's help mismanaged
"There are seven lakh registered power looms employing around three to four lakh migrant labourers. As per our estimate, more than one lakh people want to leave the city as they don't have work and are not getting food. We are doing our best to provide food but it's been more than a month now and the assistance provided by the local corporation is mismanaged. Now our priority is to help those who want to go to their home states, such as Uttar Pradesh, which is not cooperating with Maharashtra," said local MLA Rais Shaikh.

'We resolved all complaints'
According to Pravin Ashtikar, the chief of BNCMC, initially, there were a lot of complaints regarding food quality and its supply, but all have been resolved. "We are not denying that complaints were received from people but I must tell you that we listen to them and now things have improved in the past week. There have been no complaints about the food as far as quality and supply are concerned. There are several NGOs working with us and we are supplying 80,000 food packets daily. The migrants who want to leave just want to go home because the lockdown has been extended. Most of the migrants have been taken care of by us and their employers," said Ashtikar.

Ashtikar added that so far there are 20 cases of Coronavirus in Bhiwandi city, of which two have recovered and 290 are in institutional quarantine. "We started preparing for COVID-19 in the second week of march — we procured equipment for disinfecting and started sanitising the area much in advance. As you see the result, all positive cases in Bhiwandi have come from other areas. We have successfully stopped community transmission despite a high population. Currently, Bhiwandi has a population of over 8 lakh. We started door-to-door screening last week, targeting the most vulnerable people, and 75 per cent of the survey is complete. So far, 1,011 people are found to be vulnerable as they are suffering from other ailments and we are taking care of them," Ashtikar added.

80K
Food packets Bhiwandi civic body claims it is providing

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Trains ferrying migrant workers have been on the move with about 14 of them having left from the Central Railway section and 62 from the Western Railway section across different divisions. However, there continues to be limitations in the number of trains leaving from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) as it is a red zone.

So far, eight trains have left from the MMR region with a couple of more planned in the coming days. A Bhivandi Road-Gorakhpur one was the first train to leave the MMR region on May 2 with 1,104 migrants.

The same day another train left from Vasai Road for Gorakhpur with 1,200 migrants. After this, two trains left for Jaipur — one from Bhivandi and another from Dahanu — on May 4, two from Kalyan to Darbhanga and Kalyan to Guntkul on May 5 and another two — Panvel to Rewa and Bhivandi to Patna in the wee hours of May 6.

The first train to arrive in the state was from Rayanapadu in Vijaywada

First train to arrive in Maha
Meanwhile, the first train to arrive in Maharashtra was from Rayanapadu in Vijaywada. It reached Chandrapur with 1,212 migrants around 9.10 am on May 6. The passengers were provided with food and water by the state government and later taken for health check-ups by the district collector before being sent to their homes.

One of the group leaders, who was onboard the train, said the migrants from Maharashtra had gone to Rayanapadu for red chilli plucking and transport was organised by the Krishna district administration. "They were taken to the station in 48 buses with 25 passengers each. The passengers included senior citizens, women and children too," he told mid-day over phone. Western Railway chief PRO, Ravinder Bhakar said the railways would run these trains as long as there was demand from other state governments.

14
No. of trains that have left from the CR section

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Six new cases of Corona were found in the Panvel Municipal Corporation jurisdiction on Wednesday taking the count to 113 under the PMC. Among the new cases are two APMC staffers, a police officer, a kidney patient, a homemaker and a BEST employee.

The PMC, which falls under the Raigad district, was initially declared an orange zone, as was the entire Raigad district but within 24 hours, the collector put PMC areas in the red zone.

Ramesh Lengarekar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, PMC, informed mid-day that PMC was a part of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), like Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan and Dombivli, etc, and considering the entire MMR is in the red zone, PMC, too, falls under the said category. "While the government has the power to decide the zones (red, orange, green), the collector has been empowered to list a zone from orange to red or green to orange."

12L population in PMC
So far, two deaths have been reported from the PMC region, which has a population of 12 lakh. The number of positive cases in Raigad district, excluding PMC, is lesser and is, therefore, in the orange zone.

Areas under the PMC — Panvel, Kamothe, Kalamboli, Kharghar, Ulve and Taloja — will follow the national lockdown period till May 17 with prohibitory orders under Section 144 (no assembly of more than five people) in force.

"As per the central government directives, we are making an attempt to keep some additional shops (five) other than medical and general stores open. A decision on this will be taken soon," a senior PMC official said.

Infection from Mumbai
The BEST staffer who tested positive is attached to the Govandi bus depot, and the police sub-inspector is attached to a police station in the Central Mumbai region.

The kidney patient was undergoing his dialysis treatment in a private hospital in Sanpada while the two APMC staffers are residents of Kamothe and Kharghar.

Mangal Kamble, founder president of Swachh Kharghar Foundation, said, "People working in Mumbai have been travelling daily between Mumbai and the PMC area, and have caught the infection in the city."

Cases spike in APMC market
"Also, our concern is that most of the vegetables, fruits, and grains are being transported all over the MMR region from the APMC market, which is already seeing an increase in the number of positive cases. A thorough screening of every vehicle entering and exiting APMC should be done and at every entry point within the PMC area. This needs to be done to curtail any community outbreak of the virus," Kamble added.

Over 100 COVID-19 cases in APMC
Dr Satish Choudhari, nodal officer for COVID at Gram Vikas Bhavan, Kharghar said, "At present, we have around 24 positive cases in the quarantine centre here. All those people who have a cold, cough, fever for more than three to five days are sent to the Gram Vikas Bhavan for quarantine and are referred to sub-district hospital Panvel or to MGM hospital in Kamothe if they need further treatment."

Twelve new cases have been detected in the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) market taking the tally there to over 100.

The market, however, continues to function as per the guidelines of the committee appointed for monitoring the situation.

113
Total no. of COVID cases in PMC area

2
No. of novel Coronavirus deaths in PMC area

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In a latest controversy, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had decided to file a police complaint against doctors who prescribe COVID-19 tests to patients without conducting physical examinations. The officials of L ward had also come up with a complaint format that was supposed to be sent to police stations. However, when doctors slammed the move, the civic body withdrew it on Wednesday.

According to the complaint letter issued by L ward, a doctor found to have referred a patient for the COVID-19 test without a physical examination would face an FIR under Section 188 of the IPC (disobeying orders of a public servant) and the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. Confirming that such a decision was taken by the civic administration, a senior civic official said, "The COVID-19 task force decided that doctors have to examine the patient physically before prescribing any test. Ward officials will file the complaint with the respective police station if the regulations are not followed and the police will investigate the matter further."

However, when contacted, an L ward official said that the decision was taken after a doctor based in New Delhi referred a patient for testing in Mumbai and the complaint form was being used as a scare tactic. "We weren't planning on taking action against doctors. We just wanted to discourage the medical fraternity from referring patients without examining them. The complaint form was shared on some chat groups," added the official.

Dr Avinash Bhondwe, president of the Indian Medical Association in Maharashtra said that it is an unjustifiable move since doctors don't have access to PPE kits and they cannot examine a suspected patient without adequate protection. "We are only working with masks and gloves. It is very risky to physically examine a patient and doctors are not able to buy PPE kits either since it's not available, which is why in some cases doctors are consulting patients over phone. However, the BMC cannot take action against doctors and this will be challenged in the court of law," said Dr Bhondwe.

He added that even making physical examination mandatory doesn't make sense unless the civic body provides PPE kits to all doctors. "More and more doctors are testing positive every day. If a doctor examines a patient without PPE and if the patient tests positive, then the doctor will be placed in quarantine," he said. Dr Bhondwe added that instead of testing only the symptomatic patients, the government should make arrangements to test everyone. "Health is a constitutional right and everyone should be able to undergo tests," he added. Dr Bhondwe also pointed out that till date none of the circulars issued by the ICMR have mentioned that physical examination is mandatory. He further said that L ward officials later assured him that no FIR would be filed against doctors.

When contacted, Dr Gautam Bhansali, consulting physician with Bombay Hospital, said that taking action wasn't the correct approach in such stressful times. "Such decisions are demeaning to doctors who are working so hard. Referring a patient is not a crime and doesn't warrant a punishment. At best, circulars can be issued to create awareness among doctors," he said.

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A slice of the verdant Nehru Science Centre in Worli has been taken over by the civic authorities for what Centre director Dr S Khened thinks must be for "an isolation centre, or for quarantine."

Khened said, "I do not know exactly for which. We got official communication a couple of days earlier that a portion of the centre's space will be acquired. The front portion of the Centre, just as you enter the main gate, has been taken. We usually use that space to hold Science exhibitions. We have also held a vintage car exhibition two years ago in that venue, so it is a massive space."

Centre officials said preparations are in full swing, with beds and mattresses and even mobile toilets being brought in. The Science Centre officials have tried to talk to those in charge at the site for details but without too much success.

They reasoned, "it is evident that the officials are extremely stressed and we are in fact, prepared for the worst. Authorities are working extremely hard to get this ready," they stated.

Khened said that the environs of the Centre are very green and will need to be maintained. "We need to have some skeletal staff inside to maintain the green patches, the trees, the many plants that we have. They need water and regular upkeep," he said adding that it was important that the Coronavirus facility is completely sealed off from the other parts of the sprawling complex.

The Centre also has skeletal staff quarters on the premises where currently eight senior officers are living with their families, "so it is vital that those who are going to be shifted into the facilities for Coronavirus, be confined to that space. I am sure this has been thought out and will be done," said Khened.

Physical space
The Science centre has moved its activities online, like most other institutions, with two virtual lectures scheduled on their YouTube channel on May 9 and May 11 respectively. The former will be a talk by Dr Vasant Shinde on Rakhigarhi Excavation and the latter is Dr Anil Kakodkar, on 'dealing with energy needs in the context of climate crisis'. Yet, said Dr Khened, "We will open again as a physical space when the government gives the green light. Children, the main visitors at the Centre, may have some apprehension about visiting since this will be used as a Coronavirus facility.

There is a great deal of wariness as the Centre is just next to the Jijamata Nagar slum area, which is a COVID hotspot. "However, with all the trepidation, we too understand that this is for the greater good, and everybody has to do their part in this fight," the director said.

Line up
The Worli area, with an unenviable record number of Coronavirus cases in Mumbai, is also being taken over as quarantine/isolation areas rapidly. Just around the corner from the Science Centre, the Nehru Centre, which is next to the Nehru Planetarium has also been acquired for Corona purposes.

S P Verma, Jt Director of Nehru Centre, said, "The two exhibition halls on the ground floor have been acquired, not the Nehru Planetarium. I think beds and other amenities will be moved in shortly, I do not know when exactly. We had been told to hand over possession of the spaces and have done so," he finished.

The Nehru Centre joins neighbour, NSCI club's The Dome and Mahalaxmi racecourse as an entire line of Haji Ali institutions, whose space has been acquired for Corona combat.

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'Goodfather' is one of the biggest Hollywood cult classic of all times. The dialogues in the film are so popular that even Mumbai Police, being themselves, played around with words and used it in their latest post on Instagram, to share the importance of wearing masks.

In the post, the police department shared a meme with a still from the film and played around with its famous line, "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse' to 'I'm gonna offer him a mask he can't refuse.' In the captions, the police wrote, "Your enemy 'corona' always gets strong on 'the mask' you leave behind," with a striking hashtag #GodfathersOfSafety.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mumbai Police (@mumbaipolice) onMay 5, 2020 at 9:05pm PDT

The post, shared on Wednesday garnered 16,459 likes so far. One of the users who double tapped on the post was Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, who seemed impressed by the creativity of the police department, just like the users who commenting on the post.

A user said, "Suddenly i can't remember what the original line was. Mumbai Police tum bohot acha kaam karta hai." Another user said, "Mumbai Police are now best police in the world... In making memes too!" One more user said, "These guys keep getting better day by day!!"

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An under-trial inmate and two staff at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai have tested positive for Coronavirus. The inmate has been admitted for treatment at JJ Hospital. The jail administration, looking at the seriousness of the matter, got 150 people, including staff and inmates tested, of which results are awaited.

According to information received from prison sources on May 2, the inmate, who was accused of murder, collapsed in the jail after which he was admitted to JJ Hospital, Meanwhile, he underwent the Coronavirus test and he was found positive on May 4 as per his reports. The jail administration then got into action and tested 150 people in the jail for the virus, and their reports are awaited.

An official of Arthur Road Jail told mid-day, "We had taken measures to prevent coronavirus. After one of the inmates and two jail staff tested positive, we got 150 people in Arthur Jail tested. The report is yet to come."

Two jail staff who tested positive have been kept under quarantine. They were earlier sent out for fieldwork. According to the jail sources, if an employee has been sent outside the jail after lockdown, he would not be given in-prison duty again and would be sent on quarantine for 14 days.

The jail has been closed down because of the coronavirus outbreak, due to which no new inmates are being accepted in the jail. At such a time, only essentials services workers are allowed inside the jail.

As the number of cases in the state is on a surge, the prison department planned some important measures. As the inmates in the prison were prone to get infected, some of the prisoners were temporarily sent out on bail. Also, five prisons in Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, and Pune have been closed down due to the pandemic.

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With over a 100 people testing positive for COVID-19 at the APMC market in Vashi, Navi Mumbai Mayor Jayawant Sutar has demanded that it be locked down. He has threatened to write to the Maharashtra Governor and to the Central Health Committee Task Force.

Speaking to mid-day, Sutar, the mayor from BJP, said, "As per my information, the APMC already has over 100 cases of Coronavirus. When a positive case was detected on April 28, NMMC Commissioner Annasaheb Misal had ordered to shut the market for 14 days, but had to withdraw the order, after the Konkan Commissioner refused to do so."

"I spoke to Misal again during a conversation with bureaucrats and he has expressed concern over the increasing number of positive cases in the market. But so far, no decision has been taken on shutting it down," said Sutar. "Our job is to bring the matter to the notice of the government and ministers, with whom lies the final decision. If they do not heed our request, we will bring the issue to the notice of the Maharashtra Governor and the Central Health Committee Task Force monitoring the outbreak," Sutar added.

APMC Administrator and Secretary Anil Chavan, said, "As per our record, only 25 staff, including traders, have tested positive. We have been asking for swab test reports from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), but for reasons best known to them, they have not shared the reports with us." Chavan added, "We have come to know that in case a trader tests positive, the NMMC will take into account all his family members which will show a higher count."

There has been no decision on closing the market yet. File pic

When asked if they are still contemplating shutting APMC, as suggested by some traders, Chavan said, "We have learnt that government officials are still discussing this and in the next few days, the matter would be clear. Meanwhile, APMC market is functioning with restrictions and if a trader gets infected, we ensure that his galla and the two adjacent gallas are closed and sanitised."

mid-day asked Sutar about NMMC not sharing the test reports with APMC, to which he replied, "There is no reason to not share the information. All COVID-19 cases are told about to the health department and the government daily. So there is no question about APMC claiming lack of information."

A trader who did not wish to be identified, said, "It is unfortunate that the APMC market is becoming a hotspot for COVID-19. Right from the beginning, we have been alerting the APMC committee about an outbreak possibility and that they should shut the market for a few days, but our plea fell on deaf ears."

Blame game over outbreak

Sources in the APMC committee said that as opposed to the 300 trucks allowed in the market per day, traders continue to over-order stock, which is leading to several extra trucks waiting at the truck terminal. This, sources say, is exacerbating the outbreak in the market.

The market also does not have any way to prevent asymptomatic infected people from entering the premises.

Traders, on the other hand, say that the market generates a business of several crores per day and that the committee and the government do not want to interrupt that cash flow. "If someone gets infected in one stall (galla), several other workers working for the particular trader automatically run the risk of getting infected and so do their families. We have suggested that the market be completely shut for one full week with a few days' notice so people can stock up. But even that suggestion is not being taken as it will interrupt the cash flow," another trader who did not wish to be named said.

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