Restart Mumbai’s local trains and revisit the norms for containment zones that bar activities in these zones for as long as 28 days, the Maharashtra government urged the Centre on Thursday.
In a video-conference with Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the State’s Health Minister Rajesh Tope conveyed these pleas, stressing on the importance of trains to help those engaged in essential services commute safely. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has already been corresponding with the Centre on the issue.
“A number of employees from essential service sector are working against the novel coronavirus, such as those working for the municipal corporations, police, hospital employees and others. It is important to restart the local train service for them,” Mr. Tope told the Health Minister on the need to restart the city’s life line.
ADVERTISEMENT
Enforcing restrictions for 28 days in containment zones, where neither movement of people nor economic activity is allowed, is taking a toll on the police too, Mr .Tope said.
“All activities in containment zone are kept closed for 28 days from the day of identifying the last patient. Police deployment has to be made to ensure that this is strictly followed. It is required to give the large police personnel deployed for this work a breather and also divert the force to other places,” said Mr. Tope, urging the Centre to slash the period to 14 days instead. Currently, there are 3,897 containment zones in the State.
500 more ICU bedsADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The State health minister also said that 500 more ICU beds will be made available in Mumbai within a week and around 200-300 doctors from different districts will be coming to the city to provide services. “These 500 beds will be available at Seven Hills, St. George hospitals,” he said, underlining that the State’s recovery rate is around 50%.